OFFICE 
MANAGEMENT 


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THE  COST  OF  PRODUCTION 

Production  •••.».  •     •  •  •   .  • 

OUTLINES  ojr  FACTORY  Offii.\  ri 
INDUSTRIAL 'ORGANIZATION      •   •*  •    •« 
THE  KNACK  OF  MANAGEMENT  .  •  . 

How  9tiE>rt«M{  •XftitAWJW1  KArtLiBD- 
MoB«*PowiJ8*  *-'»X  CO/L"  •  I  1 1\  ,'  •  \  • . «' 

Factory  Management  (Six  volumn  in  Ihr  sfriet) 
BUILDINGS  AND  MACHINEUT  AND 

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OFFICK' 


CONTENTS 

PART  I 
PUTTING  THE  ORGANIZATION  IN  TRIM 

Making  Office  Expense  Go  Further 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I      LAYING  *OuT  THE  WORK  ON  STRAIGHT  LINES  ....        7 

II      SHOWING  EVERY  DEPARTMENT  ITS  JOB 15 

III  MORE  WORK  THROUGH  BETTER  OFFICE  CONDITIONS     .      21 

PART  II 
HIRING,  HANDLING  AND  PAYING  OFFICE  HELP 

As  the  Workers  See  It 

IV  BETTER  WAYS  TO  Do  WORK 31 

V      MAKING  ADVANCEMENT  FILL  VACANCIES 36 

VI      EMPLOYMENT  METHODS  THAT  HOLD  HELP 42 

VII      MAKING  PAYDAY  PAY 48 

VIII      GETTING  THE  FORCE  TO  PULL  TOGETHER 56 

PART  III 
FIFTY  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

Economy  as  a  Policy 

IX  SAVING  TWO-THIRDS  THE  COST  OF  CORRESPONDENCE    .  63 

X  SHORT  CUTS  IN  HANDLING  AND  FILING  MAIL      ...  71 

XI  Low  COST  AND  DISPATCH  IN  HANDLING  ORDERS      .     .  79 

XII  How  TO  KEEP  UP  MAILING  LISTS 84 

XIII  WHERE  OFFICE  APPLIANCES  CUT  COSTS 92 

XIV  HANDLING  OFFICE  SUPPLIES  LIKE  CASH 97 

XV  PLANS  THAT  STOPPED  MONEY  LEAKS  104 


306342 


4  CONTENTS 

PART  IV 
DESK  METHODS  AND  EMERGENCY  MANAGEMENT 

Filling  the  Manager's  Chair 

XVI      AT  THE  OFFICE  MANAGER'S  DESK 115 

XVII      INTERPRETING  REPORTS  AND  PLANNING  AHEAD    .    .    ,     121 


OFFICE   MANAGEMENT    CHARTS   AND   FORMS 

FIGURE  PAGE 

I  CHARTING   ROUTES   FOR   OFFICE   WORK 9 

II  LAYING   OUT   PATHS   FOR   AN   ORDER  TO   FOLLOW    ...  18 

III  ESSENTIALS   OF  OFFICE   PROCEDURE 17 

IV  HOW  TO   PLAN   EFFECTIVE   LIGHTING 27 

V  A   DEFINITE  ROUTINE   FOR  ADVANCEMENTS 39 

VI  WHERE   TO  SAVE   ON   LETTERS 73 

VII  SCHEDULING   DUTIES   FOR  A   YEAR 117 

FORM 

I  ORDER   DEPARTMENT   PRODUCTION   RECORD 19 

II  REQUISITION   FOR   EMPLOYEES 45 

III  PAYROLL  DISTRIBUTION  SHEET 51 

IV  COMBINED   PAY   ENVELOPE   AND   RECEIPT 52 

V  SALARY   REQUISITION   BLANK 53 

VI  PAYROLL  RECORD   CARD 54 

VII  ADDRESSING   CLERK'S   PRODUCTION   CARD 65 

VIII  EFFICIENCY   SUMMARY   OF  ADDRESSING   CLERKS      ...  65 

ix  STENOGRAPHERS'  DAILY  SCHEDULE 67 

x  COPYISTS'  REPORT  OF  DAILY  OUTPUT 67 

XI  NOTICE  OF  INCORRECT  REMITTANCES 72 

XII  STAMP  AND  MAIL  RECORD 72 

XIII  INTER-DEPARTMENT   COMMUNICATION   ENVELOPE   ...  75 

XIV  FILE   RECORD  OF   BORROWED  CORRESPONDENCE      ...  76 
XV-XVIII  ORDER  BLANK   WITH   CARBON  COPIES 81 

XIX-XX  PROSPECT  AND   CUSTOMER   RECORD 85 

xxi  CUSTOMERS'  CARD 86 

XXII  CARD   FOR  SMALL  MAILING   LISTS 87 

XXIII  CHANGE  OP  ADDRESS   PROSPECT   CARD 89 

XXIV  REQUISITION   FOR  SUPPLIES 98 

XXV  PACKAGE  LABEL  AND  INVENTORY  CARD 99 

XXVI  RECORD  OF  SUPPLIES   BY   DEPARTMENTS 101 

XXVII  DEPARTMENT   EXPENSE   RECORD 123 

xxvm  "CUSTOMERS  HANDLED"  RECORD 125 


•11  -••• 


PUTTING  THE   ORGANIZATION 
IN   TRIM 


Making  Office  Expense  Go  Further 

/BETTING  money  to  go  further  means 
^-*  making  it  follow  straight  lines.  Directness 
is  the  main  point  to  remember  when  you  begin 
to  shift  office  desks  and  revise  office  methods. 

As  you  tramp  through  the  plant  after  hours, 
the  shop  will  display  its  results  in  product  and 
the  sales  corps  in  cash  receipts,  but  the  office 
will  be  empty.  Don't  be  fooled.  Don't  tell 
your  office  manager  to  "go  after"  the  overhead. 

Look  deeper  with  him.  Don't  slash  blindly. 
Find  the  uses  and  products  of  the  office;  then 
improve  their  quality  and  cut  their  cost. 

Study  your  office  as  the  most  valuable  and 
intricate  mechanism  in  your  enterprise — the 
carrier  of  service  and  selling  ideas,  the  bank 
for  your  factory  and  sales  department,  the 
clutch  that  joins  product  and  trade,  the  range- 
finder  for  next  year's  business. 

Economize  space,  not  brains — trim  lost  mo- 
tion, not  system — reduce  friction,  not  power. 

Find  the  short  cuts  in  your  office  work,  and 
"overhead"  will  be  an  economy  to  your  business. 


•••  IIP 


Ill 


•  IB 


WHAT  DUTIES  IS  EACH  DEPART- 
MENT  RESPONSIBLE  FOR? 


How 

to 

Assign 
Your 
Office 
Work 


Ord«r 

Fj-ndUog 


Credit  Control 
and  Collections 


Shipping 


Purchasing 


Storekeeping 


Interning 

€:issifyipg  and  Registering       ,<UUC_  /* 

Filing 

Investigation  of  Risks 
Decisions  on  Accounts 


Duns 


Written 
Personal 


Legal  Procedure 
Records 

Filling  Orders 

Checking  Orders 

Handling  In  and  Out  Freight 

Routing,  Adjustments  and  Records 

Setting  Standards 
Investigating  Products 
Purchase  and  Follow-up 
Records  and  Files 


Receiving 


Snspection 
.toragc 


Care  of  Stock  -[inventories 

[Guarding  against  Loss  and  Depi^atl^ 

Distributing 
Records 

Cash  Receipts  and  Payments 
Accounts  Receivable  and  Payable 
Bills  and  Statements 
Checks  and  Discounts 
Cost  Keeping  and  Payroll 
Management  Reports  and  Statistics 

l)istriruting 
ncomin*M'n-1  Considering 


Outgoing  Mail  - 


Routine  Dictation 

Typing 

Signing 

Mailing  Operations 

[Tiling  and  Finding 
Follow-up 
Library  Facilities 


An  office  needs  the  same  accurate  methods  as  a  factory.      For  the  largest 

and  best  production  at  the  lowest  cost  it  is  essential  tiiat  the  work  of  every 

department  be    clearly  denned   and    assigned  so  as    to    conserve    labor, 

material  and  expense 


III 


III 


CHAPTER   I 

Laying  Out   the   Work   on 
Straight  Lines 

TT1VERY  business  past  the  hip  pocket  stage  requires 
J-J  an  office  or  department  to  keep  track  and  tally  of 
the  routine  transactions  of  making  sales,  producing 
goods,  collecting  the  money  and  paying  the  bills.  In- 
crease sales  or  production  and  you  face  in  turn  a  per- 
centage increase  in  recording  and  checking  or  an  ex- 
penditure of  gray  matter,  equally  valuable,  to  figure 
how  to  hold  down  these  administrative  charges.  So  de- 
velop "office  expenses". 

In  the  office,  as  with  every  other  problem  that  con- 
fronts the  man  who  carries  the  risk  of  the  business,  only 
a  clean-cut  analysis  of  the  essential  records  and  a  sys- 
tematic way  of  cross-sectioning  what  goes  on  in  his  par- 
ticular business  will  effect  true  economy  in  ' '  over-head ' '. 

Castings,  trucks  or  piles  of  parts  dotting  the  factory 
man's  daily  path  through  his  plant,  are  like  the  drift- 
wood that  comes  down  the  river;  they  show  him  how 
the  "stream  of  production "  is  flowing.  He  can  detect 
at  what  points  it  is  dammed  and  where  it  is  about  to 
run  dry. 


8  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

But  the  stream  of  work  in  an  office  is  a  flow  of  papers 
and  messages,  all  much  alike  to  the  casual  eye.  Work 
held  up  goes  into  desk  drawers  rather  than  jutting  into 
aisles.  Tasks  puttered  over  do  not  declare  themselves. 
It  is  respectable  to  handle  successive  office  operations  at 
opposite  ends  of  a  floor  when  it  would  be  ridiculous  if 
the  work  to  be  moved  were  sheet  steel  rather  than  rail- 
road manila.  Like  the  factory,  however,  the  office  is  a 
set  of  channels  through  which  work  should  circulate  di- 
rect, clean,  even,  rapid. 

"But  too  many  managers  expect  everything  in  the 
office  to  be  set  to  rights  at  once,"  warns  a  manager  to 
whom  belongs  the  credit  for  several  exceptionally  effi- 
cient offices.  "To  adjust  an  office  to  the  run  of  work 
takes  time,,  and  requires  that  the  proprietor  and  his 
manager  find  out  accurately  what  materials  they  have  to 
work  with  and  what  services  the  office  ought  to  render. ' ' 

Five  Tests  That  Show  Up  Lost  Motion  and  Lead 
to  Expense  Reductions 

This  practical  viewpoint  is  something  to  remember  in 
"shaking  down"  the  office.  At  dozens  of  points  in  any 
office,  the  management  sees  tag-ends  and  chances  to  clip 
costs.  A  good  rule,  however,  is  to  correct  the  frame- 
work first  of  all.  Stopping  only  to  repair  any  actual 
breakdown,  the  office  manager  whom  you  have  picked 
because  he  understands  the  great  savings  to  be  made  by 
correcting  layout,  routing,  neglect  of  work  and  lack  of 
adjustment  between  what  a  department  can  do  and  what 
is  required  of  it,  will  get  down  to  the  ground  and  study 
the  office  as  a  channel  for  the  transmission  of  work. 

t  as  the  forwarding  of  processed  or  finished  goods 
determines  the  direction  of  the  work  current  in  shop  or 
store,  the  handling  of  the  order,  which  is  the  paper  sym- 


STRAIGHT  LINES  FOR  ROUTINE 


Original  Order.  Correspon.       Copy  to  Collection  Man 
dence  and  Bill  Copy  Held  ager  on  Charge  Accounts 


Copy  to  Accountant 
for  Ledger  Entries 


Shipping  Copies  and  Floor 
Tickets  to  Shipping  Clerk 


Follow-up  (or 
Payment 


File  for  Original 
Entry  or  Destroy 


Shipping  Copies 
Held 


Copy  to  Order 
Fillef        Floor  ! 


Copies  to  Order  Fill- 
ers  on  Other  Floors 


Returned.  Checked 
and  with  Goods 


eturned.  Checked 
and  with  Goods 


Shipping  Clerk  Assembles  and  Rechecks 
with  Goods 


Rebi  ling  and 
Distribution  of  New 

Copies  Where 
Changes  Require 


Shipping  Label 
Copies  Attached  or 
Package*  Addressed 


Bill  of  Lading  Copy 
Receipted  by  Carrier 


|     Customer  Written  and  Bill  lor  Receipt  for  Cashi  Enclosed 


Out-mail  Sent 


Assembled  Order  Copies  and 

Correspondence  Checked  against 

Customer  and  Prospect  Lists 


Filed  in  Order  Department 


FIGURE  I:    The  center  of  office  efficiency  is  direct,  clean-cut  handling  of  orders. 


laying  yo 
handicapping  your  workers 


your 


10  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

bol  for  goods,  determines  the  main  stream  of  office 
work  (Figure  I).  The  source  is  the  place  to  begin 
looking  for  wasted  expense,  or  planning  for  a  future 
office  which  shall  give  quick  and  cheap  service  to  a  busi- 
ness. Tributary  to  this  current  at  convenient  points  will 
come  the  general  service  departments,  supply  purchas- 
ing and  distributing,  correspondence,  adjustments,  dis- 
cipline. Reorganization  of  these  will  wait. 

Beginning  with  the  incoming  mail,  the  point  where 
waste  begins  usually,  it  is  established  practice  in  plan- 
ning either  present  or  prospective  offices : 

(1)  To  map  the  floor  plan  and  examine  it  for  the 
best  all  around  layout. 

(2)  To  sketch  on  this  or  a  similar  map,  the  progress 
of  the  order,  from  the  mail  desk  to  the  assembling  and 
filing  of  the  various  carbon  copies  after  shipment  has 
been  made. 

(3)  To  follow  an  order  down  this  current  and  see  it 
handled  in  every  detail. 

(4)  To  get  and  tabulate  reports  of  work  done  and 
unfinished,  by  departments. 

(5)  To  go  through  the  detail  work  of  each  depart- 
ment in  turn. 

In  the  small  office  the  general  manager  will  want  to 
do  this  himself.  In  the  bigger  business,  he  can  keep  in 
close  touch  with  the  work  of  his  office  lieutenant. 

By  the  time  the  last  two  moves  are  under  way,  he  will 
have  become  so  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  conditions, 
that  he  can  go  back  to  his  map  and  rearrange  it  to  save 
wasted  space,  to  stop  the  surprising  gyrations  usually 
found  in  the  progress  of  an  order,  to  correct  the  loca- 
tion and  size  of  various  departments  and  thus  come 
nearer  short-line  routing  all  along. 


STRAIGHT  LINES  FOR  ROUTINE  11 

Unnecessary  expenses  hide  in  every  kink  or  round- 
about. Because  an  office  operation  repeats  over  and 
over,  the  money  waste  is  important  wherever  a  clerk 
walks  ten  feet  when  the  errand  could  be  done  by  hand- 
ing a  paper  across  a  table.  Once  these  roundabouts  are 
straightened  out,  it  becomes  easier  to  maintain  efficiency 
and  to  correct  desk-to-desk  details.  The  reports  show- 
ing work  finished  and  unfinished  at  each  dividing  line  in 
the  routine  and  for  various  individuals  will  then  indicate 
sections  that  are  cramped  or  needlessly  spread  out,  over- 
taxed or  subject  to  an  ebb  and  flow  of  detail  for  which 
provision  is  worth  while. 

How  a  New  Office  Manager  Short-cut  Miles  of  Lost 
Motion 

Two  office-making  tools  used  every  day  by  a  manager 
who  is  now  rounding  out  the  reorganization  of  a  medium 
sized  business  office,  are  his  experimental  office  plan 
(Figure  II)  and  his  map  of  order  routine.  Immediately 
on  taking  charge,  this  manager  secured  a  24x48-inoh 
plan  of  the  office,  on  cardboard,  and  had  the  various 
desks,  office  appliances,  files  and  other  equipment  indi- 
cated by  movable  bits  of  cardboard  cut  to  scale  and 
labeled.  Tacks  with  colored  heads  indicating  the  vari- 
ous departments  were  used  to  stick  the  cardboards  in 
place. 

He  then  ruled  off  the  trail  of  an  order,  indicating  by 
lines  and  arrows  its  rather  "  butterfly "  flight  back  and 
forth,  and  up  and  down  the  room.  The  card  labels  in- 
dicated the  exact  processes,  desk  by  desk. 

Over  this  plan,  the  proprietor  and  manager  worked 
out  hundreds  of  feet  of  lost  motion,  but  they  took  no 
action  as  yet.  Personally  following  his  map  of  the  order 


12  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

routine,  the  office  man  studied  equipment,  help  and  mo- 
tions involved  in  opening  mail,  sorting  orders,  entering 
cash,  interpreting,  pricing  and  copying  orders,  determin- 
ing credit  questions,  checking  up  advertising  returns, 
filling  orders,  making  shipment,  sending  the  invoice, 
making  the  necessary  bookkeeping  entries  and,  finally, 
filing  the  records  of  the  finished  work. 

At  several  points  the  channel  of  work  seemed  insuffi- 
cient, and  at  another  there  was  a  larger  force  than  the 
operation  ordinarily  required.  Beginning  with  the  de- 
partments that  seemed  most  wasteful,  he  arranged  to 
have  individual  daily  reports  referred  to  him.  The  form 
in  every  case  merely  showed  the  amount  of  work  in- 
coming, handled  and  left  undone  daily,  so  that  the  indi- 
vidual could  see  his  own  record  clearly  as  he  set  it  down. 

Going  over  these  slips  day  after  day,  the  office  head 
and  his  department  chiefs  began  to  get  a  perspective  on 
the  work  a  clerk  can  do.  A  corner  of  the  office  on 
which  other  processes  almost  always  had  to  wait  was 
soon  found  to  be  suffering  from  low-priced  help.  The 
record  of  one  efficient  worker  suggested  that  the  delays 
were  due  to  the  inaccuracies  of  less  capable  clerks.  To 
rehandle  the  poor  work  made  a  double  burden.  The 
manager  shifted  three  of  these  clerks  to  less  exacting 
work  and  brought  in  one  of  high  grade.  This  change 
reduced  the  number  of  desks  from  five  to  three  and  cut 
out  the  short  circuit  which  the  faulty  work  had  caused. 

Spurred  by  this  saving,  moreover,  the  department 
head  began  a  study  of  lost  motion  in  the  detail  work  at 
each  desk,  and  so  simplified  it  as  to  leave  one  of  his  two 
clerks  two  hours  of  spare  time  every  afternoon.  During 
this  period,  the  office  manager  then  made  use  of  her  as  a 


STRAIGHT  LINES  FOR  ROUTINE 


13 


reserve  worker  at  various  tasks  which  had  piled  up  and 
held  over  on  certain  days. 

Out  of  these  daily  reports  thus  came  a  better  adjust- 
ment of  equipment,  employment  and  instruction  in  each 
department.  As  he  revised  his  ideas  of  the  space  and 
position  needed  for  each  phase  of  the  work,  he  also 
shifted  the  cardboards  on  his  office  map  and  tried  differ- 
ent layouts. 

He  had  found,  for  instance,  that  no  sooner  was  the 
mail  opened,  the  non-cash  correspondence  sent  to  those 
addressed  and  the  remittances  cared  for,  than  the  orders 


FIGURE  II:  With  a  heavy  cardboard  plat  of  his  office,  bits  of  cardboard  cut  to  scale 
and  labeled  to  show  desks  and  equipment,  and  fastened  with  colored  tacks  to  indicate 
different  departments,  a  manager  in  search  of  wasted  expense  money  "moved  the  office" 
on  [pa per  and  found  the  most  direct  route  for  work.  The  dotted  line  shows  the 
"surprising  gyrations"  in  the  progress  of  an  order  from  mail  desk  to  billing  machine. 
The  solid  black  line  shows  how  the  order  routine  was  revised  and  lost  motion  pruned 

went  the  length  of  the  office  to  the  sales  head  for  exam- 
ination and  check-up  on  the  sales  record;  then,  fre- 
quently, across  the  room  to  the  office  occupied  by  the 
managing  partner.  After  that,  they  were  brought  back 
the  length  of  the  room  for  entry.  The  office  manager 


14  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

shifted  his  cardboards  for  several  days.  Finally,  he 
went  to  the  head  of  the  concern. 

""I  can  clip  two  hours  from  the  time  we  take  to  fill 
the  orders  that  come  in  the  first  mail,"  he  said. 

His  chief  went  over  the  suggestion  and  found  that  it 
would  in  no  way  handicap  the  factory  or  the  selling  end. 
Administration  would  not  cripple  production  or  distri- 
bution. The  round  trip  which  the  order  mail  had 
regularly  made  to  the  other  end  of  the  office  was,  there- 
fore, discontinued  and  in  its  place,  a  brief  tabulation  of 
the  orders,  made  out  in  the  order  department,  was  put 
into  the  office  mail  for  everyone  concerned.  The  sales 
manager  was  free  to  consult  the  originals  in  the  order 
department  if  the  report  led  him  to  do  so. 

Another  digression  which  the  map  brought  to  light  in 
this  particular  business  was  the  trip  which  the  orders 
made  to  the  file  of  mailing  lists.  Other  striking  digres- 
sions from  straight  lines  came  of  the  out-of-the-way  lo- 
cation of  the  general  files  and  the  shipping  room.  Both 
of  these  faults  were  readily  corrected. 

Straight-line  order  processing,  so  far  as  practicable, 
thus  became  a  fact.  Every  division  of  the  office  was 
better  adjusted  in  size,  equipment  and  force  to  do  its 
share  in  the  work ;  tributary  departments  were  better  lo- 
cated, and  through  the  trained  reserve  forces  the  crest 
of  a  wave  of  business  was  easily  met  as  it  worked  its  way 
down  the  office. 


T^HE  business  executive  of  today  has 
•••  a  four-fold  function :  he  is  a  watcher, 
an  economizer,  a  pusher,  a  planner. 
— T.  J.  Zimmerman 


CHAPTER  II 

Showing  Every  Department  Its  Job 

YOUR  business  office  is  merely  the  tool  which  enables 
those  who  manufacture  and  those  who  sell  for  you 
to  do  so  more  efficiently.  Its  function  is  to  handle  the 
communications,  records,  accounts,  finances  and  reports 
essential  to  a  business — to  get  things  done  efficiently. 
Every  person  and  division  of  an  office  have  particular 
uses.  Lost  motion  results  from  having  one  sort  of  process 
unnecessarily  done  in  two  places.  The  short-line  idea 
is  as  vital  in  reorganizing  departments  and  improving 
desk  methods  as  in  routing  the  order  itself. 

Whether  there  are  only  two  desks  or  five  hundred, 
every  office  (page  6)  has  some  one: 

(1)  To  handle  and  fill  orders. 

(2)  To  pass  on  credits  and  collect  for  goods  sold. 

(3)  To   ship,    route   and   handle   claims    regarding 
goods. 

(4)  To  keep  the  accounts,  statistics  and  money  of 
the  firm — to  handle  the  financial  and  banking  operations 
and  furnish  reports  to  the  management. 

(5)  To  supply  correspondence,  circularizing  and  fil- 
ing facilities  as  tools  to  all  parts  of  the  business. 

(6)  To  purchase — to  get  the  supplies  necessary  to 

15 


16  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

the  office,  keep  a  record  of  sources,  place  orders  and  fol- 
low them  to  insure  arrival. 

(7)  To  care  for  and  distribute  these  supplies — to 
check  in,  to  store,  to  notify  the  buyer  of  shortages,  to 
give  out  and  record  the  supplies  used  by  the  various  de- 
partments. 

When  the  management  of  a  business  goes  into  the  de^ 
tails  of  office  economy,  the  task  is  to  see  that  every  man 
or  department  does  its  share  of  certain  of  these  and 
other  things  and  is  definitely  freed  from  all  the  others. 
It  is  most  effective  to  relieve  everyone  as  much  as  pos- 
sible from  split  interests,  and  where  the  force  is  too 
small  to  keep  various  duties  separated,  so  to  combine 
them  that  no  one  will  be  assigned  duties  that  conflict. 
Buying  is  best  done  by  a  man  who  is  neither  using  what 
he  buys  nor  selling  to  those  from  whom  he  might  pur- 
chase. Complaints  are  less  embarrassing  to  adjust  by 
some  one  in  the  order  department  or  by  the  management 
than  by  the  salesman,  on  whom  the  customer  "has  the 
drop".  If  the  proprietor  is  at  once  salesman,  supply 
buyer  and  complaint  adjuster,  he  can  still  train  himself 
to  a  less  biased  handling  of  each  duty.  The  allowance  of 
credit  can  scarcely  be  handled  without  favoritism  by  an 
order  taker.  As  good  collections  begin  with  good  credits, 
the  credit  man  does  better  if  made  responsible  for  round- 
ing up  the  accounts  he  allows.  If,  however,  the  actual 
money  comes  to  his  desk,  the  house  is  not  protecting  him 
against  temptation  and  is  putting  him  to  embarrassment 
in  the  case  of  any  disputed  settlement.  Because  the  ac- 
counting department  is  handling  figures  which  are  a 
check  on  the  work  at  many  points,  to  keep  it  independent 
and  judicial  is  an  advantage  (Figure  III). 

Many  of  these  points  the  office  manager,  whose  work  of 


FIXING  DEPARTMENT  TASKS 


17 


reorganization  has  been  outlined  in  the  previous  chapter, 
found  suggestive  in  his  more  detailed  task  of  bringing 
the  different  divisions  of  his  office  into  line  with  that 
general  plan  of  expense  control. 

Going  to  the  supply  buyer,  he  found,  as  is  always  the 


FIGURE  III:     Preliminary  classification  of  office  departments  and  functions  according 
to  principles  of  scientific  management.     The  analysis  was  carried  much  further,  how- 
ever, the  chart  for  each  department,  after  the  subdivision  of  functions  had  been  made, 
having  almost  as  many  heads  as  here  shown 

case  when  any  officer  shows  special  efficiency,  that  he  was- 
saddled  with  work  which  rightly  belonged  to  several 
other  men.  In  his  files  were  stored  not  only  buying, 
sales  and  contract  records  which  convenience  centered 
there,  but  quantity  records  which  belonged  with  the 
stockkeeper,  and  accounting  matters  and  valuable  papers 
which,  in  the  hands  of  the  cashier,  might  have  been  earn- 
ing interest. 

Charting  and  following  through  every  detail  of  the 
buyer's  routine  with  him,  the  office  manager  relieved 
him  of  all  other  work  and  helped  him  to  cut  corners  in  a 


18  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

number  of  ways.  Going  into  the  stock  and  shipping 
rooms,  he  repeated  the  same  process. 

In  the  storeroom  he  found  the  clerk  needlessly  held 
at  the  window  throughout  the  day  to  supply  those  who 
had  been  careless  about  keeping  stationery,  typewriter 
ribbons  and  blanks  on  hand.  He  set  office  hours  and  no- 
tified everyone  to  requisition  all  supplies  within  these 
limits,  which  were  several  times  reduced  before  a  sensi- 
ble minimum  was  reached.  In  the  leisure  time  which 
this  arrangement  gave  the  stock  clerk,  he  was  able  to 
check  in  and  place  his  new  supplies  more  accurately, 
classify  his  stock  and  organize  a  perpetual  inventory 
which  made  future  shortages  and  delays  unlikely. 

Going  to  the  sales  head,  the  office  manager  showed  him 
that  the  accounting,  billing  and  correspondence  sections 
were  planned  to  care  for  these  details  for  all  depart- 
ments. Duplication  was  costly.  Orders,  remittances  and 
collections  were  accordingly  turned  over  to  the  proper 
men  (Form  I).  The  office  manager  and  the  sales  head 
then  laid  out  a  calendar  of  sales  effort  and  it  was  ar- 
ranged that  the  sales  manager  should  put  in  writing  a 
weekly  statement  of  his  plans  so  that  the  office 
manager  could  take  care  of  the  circularizing  and  the  re- 
sulting order  work  by  skillfully  shifting  his  various  re- 
serve clerks.  Conditions  just  as  bad  were  also  found  in 
the  advertising  department. 

Analyzing  the  collection  complaints  in  turn,  the  office 
manager  found  that  the  collection  letters  which  went  out 
were  not  first  checked  against  the  incoming  remittance 
for  the  same  day.  Adopting  this  plan  relieved  many  cus- 
tomers from  the  exasperation  of  duns  for  bills  already 
paid,  and  cut  off  much  follow-up  postage. 

In  the  bookkeeping,  the  most  important  source  of  un- 


FIXING  DEPARTMENT  TASKS  19 

necessary  expense  came  from  work  not  being  cleaned  up 
each  day.  Daily  and  monthly  reports  were  often  tardy 
or  incomplete,  so  that  not  only  prompt  collections  but 
the  decisions  of  the  proprietor  himself  suffered.  Several 
employees  who  showed  little  interest  were  found  to  be 
discouraged  because  there  was  no  method  in  the  way  of 
promotion  except  what  they  interpreted  to  be  favoritism. 
As  the  individual  reports  showed  what  the  work  required 


TO     9?tn~    £WZ^^ 

DATE          ^/<26//^. 

On  hand    A.M  

ORDERS 

Received  .. 

3?6 

TOTAL 

Checked 

3  7c 

Balance  in  hands  of  BILLERS 
CHECKERS 

i               V 

LIST 

2  O 

SIGNED        A/  <£/     t$3 

FORM  I :     A  form  sent  to  the  manager  each  night  showing  the  production  of  the  order 

department  and  the  incompleted  work.      Similar  reports  of  unfinished  and  completed 

tasks  were  sent  to  the  office  head  from  various  departments 

and  what  the  men  could  do,  the  less  efficient  were  shifted 
to  tasks  that  better  suited  them,  the  force  was  cut  down 
and  a  line  of  promotion  fixed. 

The  correspondence  department,  being  the  tool  of  the 
office  generally,  revealed  to  the  management  unusual 
chances  to  cut  out  wasted  motions  and  reduce  costs. 
Facilities  were  scattered ;  many  files,  often  of  a  conflict- 
ing nature,  absorbed  floor  space  and  proved  a  constant 
puzzle  to  the  filing  and  finding  clerks.  There  was  no 


20  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

standard  way  to  safeguard  one  class  of  contracts  anc 
certain  valuable  papers,  nor  to  handle  general  records 
and  business  library  material.  Messenger  service  to  the 
outlying  departments  was  irregular.  Letters  were  often 
filed  without  assurance  that  they  had  been  answered  and 
were  often  missing  from  the  files  without  explanation. 
An  evening  rush  of  outbound  mail  usually  made  con- 
fusion. 

To  consolidate  facilities  where  of  greatest  common 
convenience,  the  office  manager  brought  the  various  de- 
partment files  down  to  their  proper  limits,  enlarged  the 
general  file,  which  he  had  shifted  to  the  order  section, 
and  put  it  in  the  control  of  a  responsible  head  clerk.  It 
was  arranged  that  she  should  not  file  unanswered  corre- 
spondence without  the  initial  of  the  department  head 
concerned  and  that  record  slips  should  be  inserted  when 
correspondence  was  withdrawn.  Saturday  afternoon  in- 
spections enforced  the  ruling. 

In  the  moderate  sized  office  which  this  manager  reor- 
ganized, the  work  outlined  occupied  several  months.  At 
the  end  of  that  time,  the  manager  found  himself  with  a 
well-planned  office  where  a  colored  tag  attached  to  an 
order  could  have  been  seen  moving  down  the  room 
steadily  and  in  the  main,  directly,  with  only  unavoidable 
deviations  from  the  shortest  line.  The  various  depart- 
ments, moreover,  were  working  with  smaller  average 
forces  and  with  less  confusion  than  ever  before.  Mis- 
understandings, disputes  and  conflicts  of  authority  had 
become  rare.  The  facts  brought  to  each  worker  by  hia 
daily  report,  together  with  the  example  of  the  office 
manager  in  simplifying  the  routine,  had  kindled  a  new 
enthusiasm  among  department  heads  and  workers. 


CHAPTER  III 

More   Work  through  Better 
Office  Conditions 

CONFUSION  in  the  mail  order  department  of  a  busi- 
ness was  running  away  with  the  profits.  So  much 
energy  was  wasted  by  people  working  over  the  card 
records  that  it  was  actually  costing  hundreds  of  dollars 
annually.  Clerks  going  back  and  forth  from  distant 
desks  to  the  crowded  filing  section,  often  had  to  wait  to 
get  access  to  the  records,  and  stopping  to  chat,  wasted 
the  company's  time. 

All  the  actual  work  was  necessary.  To  improve  the 
system  of  records  would  have  been  a  hard  task.  What 
had  to  be  done  was  to  focus  the  steps  and  minutes  of  the 
employees  on  the  work,  so  that  these  would  really  count 
for  their  full  value. 

One  day  the  manager  caught  a  glimpse  of  better 
things.  He  watched  the  girls  carrying  card  drawers 
from  the  cabinets  to  their  desks  and  back  again.  In 
several  cases  the  wrong  drawers  were  taken  and  had  to 
be  returned.  At  both  ends  of  the  trip,  there  were  slight 
delays.  As  he  watched,  an  idea  came  to  him.  It  meant 
the  complete  upsetting  of  established  methods,  and  heavy 

21 


22  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

expense  for  new  equipment;  but  it  meant  also,  he  be- 
lieved, the  cutting  out  of  the  lost  motion,  due  to  poorly 
situated  fixtures,  which  threatened  to  ruin  the  business. 

Within  an  hour,  a  card  cabinet  expert  was  analyzing 
the  situation  with  him,  helping  him  to  prepare  specifica- 
tions on  new  fixtures  and  how  they  were  to  be  laid  out. 

As  the  cabinet  man  went  out  with  a  trial  order  marked 
1  'rush",  a  desk  man  entered.  The  latter 's  order  when 
written  up  called  for  a  double  flat  top  desk  with  a 
bridge  eighteen  inches  above  the  top  and  eight  inches 
wide.  Two  drawers  on  the  bridge  were  to  hold  forms, 
stationery  ami  desk  accessories. 

The  new  card  cabinets  were  just  the  height  of  the 
desk  top.  They  were  mounted  on  casters  and  provided 
with  slots  which  allowed  them  to  be  clamped  securely  to 
either  end  of  the  desk.  Each  held  three  rows  of  drawers 
which  slid  in  and  out  from  either  end.  Each  drawer 
was  partitioned  off  into  spaces  holding  approximately 
300  cards.  Extensive  slides  made  it  possible  to  pull  the 
drawers  out  to  their  full  length  on  either  side. 

Testing  the  sample  desk  and  cabinets  to  his  satisfac- 
tion, the  manager  ordered  enough  of  both  to  equip  the 
department.  Then  he  split  up  the  customer  cards  of  the 
various  states  into  groups  small  enough  to  be  handled 
by  just  two  workers.  When  letters  or  orders  were  re- 
ceived they  were  arranged  in  these  groups  and  assigned 
to  the  desk  which  looked  after  any  particular  group. 
Misdelivery  merely  meant  passing  the  paper  or  papers 
to  the  proper  group.  Either  of  the  two  girls  at  a  desk 
might  handle  the  order. 

The  bridge  and  drawers  gave  them  whatever  addi- 
tional desk  space  they  needed.  They  could  see  and  con- 
sult each  other  but  not  the  other  workers.  Thus  atten- 


BETTER  WORKING  CONDITIONS  23 

tion  was  concentrated  on  the  work  at  hand,  and  each 
pair  worked  steadily  without  interruption  and  without 
confusion.  The  segregation  of  the  customer  cards;  the 
smaller,  movable  cabinets,  and  the  group  system  of 
handling  orders  and  correspondence  had  solved  the  prob- 
lem of  wasted  effort.  The  same  principle  of  cutting  off 
wasted  steps  and  of  arranging  so  as  not  to  keep  one  file 
clerk  waiting  for  another  to  finish,  means  a  proportion- 
ate saving  even  in  the  branch  real  estate  or  insurance 
office  with  its  two  or  three  workers. 

While  the  office  layout  depends  largely  on  the  plan 
of  the  building,  sufficient  space  and  an  arrangement  of 
clerks  to  permit  the  handling  of  work  in  a  straight  line 
or  without  duplicating  motions,  have  already  been  shown 
of  prime  importance  in  the  office  as  in  the  factory. 
How  to  work  this  out  in  detail  is  only  a  question  of  ap- 
plying simple  principles. 

One  function  should  be  performed  at  a  given  desk, 
the  second  operation  at  the  desk  behind,  and  so  on. 
This  plan  avoids  unnecessary  floor  travel.  In  one  office 
the  desks  are  so  close  that  routine  work  is  sent  on  and 
on  from  one  desk  to  another  by  the  mere  handing  of  the 
papers  to  the  next  person  without  anyone  leaving  his 
desk. 

Another  important  test  of  every  office  layout  is :  does 
it  permit  expansion  that  will  inevitably  come  in  every 
successful  institution?  Ample  space  should  always  be 
available  for  entire  office  or  single  department  expan- 
sion. To  avoid  solid  walls  and  partitions  leaves  the  way 
open  for  such  expansion.  Partitions,  if  used  at  all, 
should  be  removable  and  preferably  of  glass.  Moreover, 
no  layout  can  be  thought  of  as  permanent  where  the 


24  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

size  and  work  of  the  business  are  changing.  An  arrange- 
ment that  was  suitable  for  your  business  last  fall  will  in 
all  probability  need  changes  when  the  next  rush  season 
is  here.  At  some  stated  period  each  year,  when  in- 
ventory is  in  order  or  business  is  slack,  some  managers 
check  over  the  layout  which  formerly  fitted,  and  de- 
termine where  it  demands  rearrangement. 

While  space  saving  is  essential  to  the  success  of  every 
office,  order  and  convenience  are  not  to  be  sacrificed  by 
crowding.  Edging  into  the  aisles  and  diminishing  the 
working  space  in  front  of  office  devices  causes  a  general 
appearance  of  disorder  and  confusion  about  the  office 
with  consequent  psychological  reaction  on  the  workers 
affected. 

It  has  been  found  in  many  offices  that  the  best  results 
are  obtained  with  a  school  room  arrangement,  the  "pu- 
pils" facing  the  "instructor",  with  desks  end  to  end  in 
twos  or  fours.  Another  effective  plan  is  to  place  typists 
back  to  back.  The  use  of  roll  top  desks  facing  the  man- 
ager, on  the  other  hand,  shuts  off  his  view  and  slackens 
discipline.  While  an  employee  in  most  such  cases  does 
not  willfully  waste  time,  the  eye  of  the  superior  gives  a 
definite  reason  for  ambitious  effort  and  is  an  excellent 
day-dream  chaser. 

Giving  Workers  the  Proper  Amount  of  Space  to 
Work  In 

Workers  are  like  plants.  Don't  get  them  too  close 
together  or  the  results  will  be  poor.  Certain  recognized 
standard  measurements  for  various  workers  and  work 
greatly  assist  the  office  manager  in  planning  readjust- 
ments. A  clerk  working  in  space  where  other  clerks 


BETTER  WORKING  CONDITIONS  25 

pass  about  him,  should  have  all  of  three  feet  aisle  space. 
With  employees  working  back  to  back,  a  little  less  than 
four  feet  from  desk  to  desk  is  recognized  as  an  approxi- 
mate standard  to  give  sufficient  chair  room. 

A  very  common  width  for  mail  aisles  (the  average  of 
a  dozen  offices)  is  three  feet,  although  this  ranges  to 
half  a  foot  more.  Five  feet  is  the  space  usually  allowed 
in  front  of  any  file  in  continual  use. 

As  to  space  for  each  employee,  it  was  found  that  a 
general  average  was  an  area  ten  and  a  half  feet  square. 
This  includes  the  space  for  desk,  chair,  aisle,  files  and 
equipment. 

How  to  work  out  your  new  arrangement  is  a  question 
that  holds  back  many  managers  who  would  reorganize 
if  they  could  vizualize. 

Any  office,  large  or  small,  may  use  the  map  and  tack 
plan  (Chapter  I)  to  decided  advantage.  A  saving  of 
time  and  money  will  be  effected  and  the  changes  made 
will  prove  unusually  satisfactory.  Guesswork  is  elimi- 
nated because  all  the  trying  out  is  done  on  the  ' '  checker 
board".  On  this,  a  wall  can  be  torn  down,  another  built 
up,  a  desk  removed  or  installed,  a  stationery  cabinet 
moved  or  put  in,  at  no  cost  whatever. 

Not  only  should  space  be  properly  divided,  but  efforts 
should  be  made  to  utilize  it  all  for  the  full  day.  Every 
foot  of  floor  space  is  being  paid  for  in  the  city  at  several 
dollars  per  square  foot  and  where  its  use  is  confined  to 
a  mere  fraction  of  the  working  time,  there  is  an  unseen 
waste  always  going  on,  resulting  in  an  abnormally  high 
rent. 

A  large  hardware  house  in  the  West  used  one  room 
for  the  employment  department.  A  very  few  hours  each 
week  sufficed  for  this  function,  until  the  manager  saw 


26  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

that  waste  of  space  was  enormous.  To  remedy  this,  he 
ordered  the  room  locked  up  to  outsiders  except  when 
new  help  was  advertised  for.  He  then  began  to  find  uses 
for  a  " spare  room"  among  his  men.  "Whenever  execu- 
tives wished  to  hold  a  private  meeting,  they  were  as- 
signed this  room.  Salesmen  often  take  their  customers 
here  for  conference.  Thus  where  formerly  there  was 
wanton  waste,  a  great  increase  has  come  about  in  the 
hours  of  use. 

Conditions  That  Enable  Employees  to  Give  Mort 
with  the  Same  Effort 

Good  lighting,  heating  and  ventilating  systems  and 
absence  of  noise  are  other  essentials  of  the  physically 
perfect  office,  which  enables  its  workers  to  do  their 
best. 

When  it  is  not  possible  to  furnish  daylight  to  every 
desk,  poor  lights  are  a  costly  economy  (Figure  IV).  In 
one  office  accommodating  eight  clerks,  partitions  had 
been  built  so  as  to  make  it  possible  to  get  daylight  from 
two  small  windows  only.  The  clerks  working  near  them 
had  plenty  of  light,  but  those  who  were  more  than  six 
feet  away  had  to  use  artificial  light  all  the  time.  The 
office  had  two  clusters  of  sixteen  candlepower  lights, 
five  bulbs  to  the  cluster. 

A  test  was  made  to  discover  how  light  influenced  the 
efficiency  of  a  man.  Two  stenographers  were  set  on 
jtraight  copying  for  one  hour  each  morning  for  one  week. 
The  first  day  they  sat  near  the  windows,  the  second  day 
near  the  door  where  they  had  to  use  general  illumina- 
tion from  clusters,  and  the  third  day  they  were  provided 
with  desk  lamps.  The  test  was  repeated  on  the  follow- 
ing three  days. 


BETTER  WORKING  CONDITIONS 


27 


In  both  cases,  the  most  work  was  accomplished  when 
the  desks  were  near  the  windows.  With  a  desk  lamp 
they  were  able  to  do  nearly  as  much  as  when  they  got 
light  from  the  windows.  With  general  lighting  the  work 
fell  twenty  per  cent  below  "daylight  work".  In  other 
words,  poor  lighting  was  costing  the  firm  nearly  an  hour 
and  a  half  of  each  clerk's  time  every  day.  Desk  lamps 
were  at  once  installed,  dispensing  with  overhead  illumi- 
nation. 

Quiet  is  regarded  by  many  as  a  cardinal  quality  of  the 
most  productive  office.  Scientific  research  has  shown 
some  interesting  things  about  the  rebound  of  noises  from 


Effective  Lighting  for  the  Office 

Dimensions  of  Office 

No.  of  Rows  of  Lamp  Power 

60 

80 

100 

150 

-10  feet 

2 

Concentrated 
Reflector 

10-14     • 

3 

2 

14-22     • 

7 

5 

4  (2  rows) 

22-30     • 

16 

10 

8  (2  rows) 

6 

30-38     • 

25 

20 

16  (3  rows) 

12  (3  rows) 

Distributing 
Reflector 

38-46     • 

40 

30 

24  (4  rows) 

18  (3  rows) 

46-58     • 

66 

50 

40 

30  (5  rows) 

FIGURE  IV:  The  power  indicated  in  this  table  is  based  on  a  uniform  height  of  sus- 
pension of  ten  feet  above  the  floor,  which  is  the  height  necessary  in  order  to  have  the 
points  of  light  well  above  the  direct  lines  of  vision.  The  number  of  lamps  given  is 
based  on  the  use  of  tungsten  incandescents.  For  carbon  filaments,  approximately  three 
and  one-half  times  as  many  units  would  be  required  to  give  the  same  candlepower.  An 
intensity  of  1.5  watts  to  the  square  foot  is  taken  as  given  with  this  suspension,  three  to 
four  watt  candles  to  the  square  foot  on  the  working  plan,  which  is  the  figure  usually 
observed  for  office  lighting.  In  case  of  the  largest  sized  lamp,  150  watts,  the  spacing 
being  of  course  wider  than  for  the  smaller  sizes,  for  a  suspension  of  ten  feet — in  order 
toget  proper  distribution  of  the  light  flux,  the  us,?  of  a  wider  distributing  reflector  is 
requisite.  The  use  of  high-efficiency  reflectors  is  assumed  in  all  cases.  Naked  lamps 
would  be  very  much  less  efficient 

hard  walls  and  in  an  open,  high-ceiled  room.  A  New 
York  firm  has  successfully  attacked  the  problem  of  noise 
by  using  the  "ounce  of  prevention'*  instead  of  the 
"pound  of  cure".  Hair  felt,  covering  the  walls  and 


28  ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

ceilings,  practically  undermined  echoes  and  reverbera- 
tions. Installation  of  a  system  of  forced  ventilation  was 
the  first  step  taken.  Circulation  of  washed  and  filtered 
air  throughout  the  building  allowed  the  sealing  of  the 
windows  and  the  consequent  exclusion  of  outside  noises. 
This  construction,  together  with  the  segregation  of 
typing  and  calculating  machines,  reduced  the  offensive 
office  noises  to  a  minimum. 

Ventilation,  heat  and  humidity  are  other  matters  to 
receive  constant  consideration.  A  reasonably  cool,  moist, 
well-ventilated  office  is  a  big  factor  in  assuring  the  com- 
fort of  the  workers  and  in  maintaining  their  efficiency, 
the  year  round. 

An  office  gets  a  good  or  bad  name  for  working  con- 
ditions. Especially  in  the  small  office  where  no  one  with 
knowledge  is  responsible  for  living  conditions,  the  neglect 
of  these  points  is  running  into  money  every  month  be- 
cause of  drowsy  and  lazy  workers,  wasted  effort,  dis- 
content and  unused  facilities.  By  planning  to  have  con- 
ditions right,  and  entrusting  this  schedule  to  one  re- 
sponsible clerk,  production  can  easily  be  increased. 
Making  it  both  easy  and  agreeable  for  employees  to 
work  in  your  office  is  a  sure  way  of  reducing  the  fluctua- 
tions of  the  office  force  and  of  developing  the  output  to- 
wards the  maximum. 


THERE  must  be  no  frills  in  the  trans- 
action of  office  routine,  no  lost  effort, 
no  jumbling  of  inter-department  mat- 
ters. To  this  end  a  well-planned  ar- 
rangement of  the  office  is  obviously 
essential. 


Part  II 


HIRING,  HANDLING  AND  PAY- 
ING OFFICE  HELP 


As  the  Workers  See  It 

IVE  clerks  recently  came  and  went  at  the 
same  desk  in  a  basement  office.  The  man- 
ager is  still  looking  for  a  good  man,  who  will 
"stick". 

Another  view  of  it  is  that  five  sensible 
clerks  voted  against  handicapping  themselves 
with  bad  air  and  poor  light. 

The  office  is  an  Idea  workshop;  above  all,  it 
must  have  keen  minds.  To  inspire  and  enlist 
these  in  team  work  demands  fundamental  ap- 
peals to  loyalty  through  individual  ambition. 
No  manager  can  afford  to  know  so  much  or 
decide  so  obstinately  as  not  to  review  office 
hours,  conditions,  chances  and  pay  through 
the  worker's  eyes. 

When  five  clerks  cast  a  vote  of  resignation 
against  a  basement  niche,  the  wise  manager 
moves  or  betters  his  equipment.  When  ex- 
ecutives quit,  chances  for  initiative  and  pro- 
motion are  called  "on  the  carpet". 

There  is  no  more  vital  working  rule  of  man- 
agement than  this :  Keen  workers  will  not 
waste  themselves  long  on  dull  tools  or  blind- 
alley  jobs,  for  to  do  so  means  dullness. 

•••  li 


Ill 


IIB 


\/  u  rvL/j.  j.  x  Ji/ij    J.  v^   j-<vjvyiv    JL-WJ.V  ij.^ 

CHOOSING  OFFICE  HELP 

I 

1 

Bill  Clerk 

1 

Cashier 

Collector 

Cost  Clerk 

- 

Invoice  Clerk 

Ledger  Clerk 

Office  Manager 

Mail  Clerk 

Office  Boy 

Payroll  Clerk 

j 

Receiver 

u 

\ 

Secretary 

z 

Phone  Girl 

Time  Keeper 

I 

1 

Accurate 

X 

X 

i 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Alert 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Conscientious 

X 

I 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Dependable 

X 

1 

X 

X 

X 

Diplomatic 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Educated 

X 

X 

Enthusiastic 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Experienced 

X 

X 

X 

Firm 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Honest 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Industrious 

X 

X 

Ingenious 

X 

X 

* 

Initiative 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Intelligent 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

x 

Mathematical 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Neat 

X 

X 

x 

X 

T 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Original 

X 

Persistent 

X 

X 

Quick 

I 

X 

X 

X 

x 

X 

Reserved 

X 

X 

X 

X 

I 

Self-reliant 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Sincere 

X 

X 

Teachable 

X 

X 

X 

1 

I 

X 

X 

X 

V.-r-,:mle 

I 

* 

X 

X 

Deft 

X 

X 

> 

X 

X 

Eyesight 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

I 

X 

Hearing 

X 

X 

Penmanship 

/ 

1 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Pretence 

i 

X 

I 

X 

X 

When  you  hire  your  next  man,  put  a  sheet  of  paper  alongside  this  list  of 
points  in  character.     Then  check  his  required  qualities  and  see  how  he 
stacks  up.    Any  other  qualities  deemed  necessary  may  be  placed  in  the 

•II 


III 


CHAPTER  IV 
Better  Ways  to  Do  Work 

GROWTH  of  business  brought  a  crisis  in  the  office 
of  an  Eastern  manufacturer  not  long  ago.  More 
room,  more  clerks,  more  people  to  take  charge  of  work- 
ing groups,  seemed  to  be  urgently  needed.  Under  the 
grind  of  steady  overtime,  stenographers,  bookkeepers 
and  other  employees  were  becoming  restive.  The  strain 
of  the  afternoon  rush  had  begun  to  increase  errors, 
delay  work  and  unfavorably  affect  relations  with  cus- 
tomers. 

Facing  conditions  he  felt  he  could  not  remedy  while 
carrying  his  usual  office  duties,  the  manager  asked  for 
help.  Not  merely  for  an  assistant  to  take  part  of  his 
load,  however.  He  had  watched  the  application  of  scien- 
tific principles  to  management  in  neighboring  factories 
and  had  laid  hold  of  the  idea  that  one  right  way  could 
be  worked  out  for  writing  letters,  filing  correspondence, 
keeping  books  and  completing  other  office  operations  as 
certainly  as  for  turning  an  engine  crank  shaft.  So  he 
asked  for  expert  aid  to  study  office  conditions,  equip- 
ment and  methods,  and  to  find  the  best  way  of  perform- 
ing each  task  and  the  proper  tools  to  perform  it  with,  so 

31 


32  OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 

that  the  employees  could  be  shown  how  to  do  things 
correctly. 

'After  balancing  the  initial  outlay  involved,  against 
the  current  wasted  expense,  the  directors  consented  to 
the  reorganization.  The  scope  of  this  included  every 
officer  and  clerk  in  the  place  and  even  the  least  of  their 
functions.  It  looked  at  everything  without  prejudice 
but  with  a  fixed  purpose  to  find  a  better  way. 

Time  study,  scrutiny,  analysis  and  experiment  were 
the  means  by  which  the  reorganization  went  forward, 
detail  by  detail.  There  was  no  hurry;  the  investigator, 
first  of  all,  had  been  made  a  member  of  the  organiza- 
tion. He  wanted,  of  course,  to  show  immediate  returns, 
though  it  was  plainly  understood  that  his  work  was  to 
be  judged  by  final  results  alone.  While,  therefore,  the 
complete  reorganization  required  two  years,  as  he  found 
leaks  or  losses,  these  were  stopped  at  once.  As  soon  as  he 
worked  out  a  new  and  better  way  of  doing  anything  and 
had  tested  and  checked  it  in  practice,  it  was  adopted  as 
the  standard  operation;  the  program  of  economy  and 
efficiency  went  forward  one  more  step.  Where  confu- 
sion and  waste  were  most  apparent  the  investigator 
naturally  turned  first. 

One  of  the  basic  rules  of  the  scientific  method  is  to 
gather  and  preserve  in  concrete  shape  detailed  knowl- 
edge about  conditions,  materials,  processes,  and  so  on, 
and  the  right  way  to  handle  them.  In  every  business  it 
has  happened  more  than  once  that  in  the  absence  or 
after  the  resignation  of  some  executive  or  employee,  spe- 
cific tasks  have  had  to  be  left  to  men  who  knew  little  or 
nothing  about  them.  To  acquire  the  necessary  knowl- 
edge requires  time,  and  blunders  are  almost  certain  to 
occur. 


BETTER  WAYS  TO  DO  WORK  33 

With  the  more  scientific  program  in  force,  however, 
such  a  dilemma  never  needs  to  be  faced.  Instead  of  re- 
lying on  the  judgment  or  inspiration  of  the  men  when 
a  task  presents  itself,  experience  and  proved  knowledge 
are  drawn  upon  to  point  the  way.  For,  just  as  soon  as 
the  right  way  is  worked  out  for  any  operation,  whether 
by  time  study  of  processes  and  investigation  of  materials, 
equipment  and  the  like,  or  from  the  experience  of  men 
who  have  conducted  the  operation  successfully,  this  right 
way  is  adopted  and  recorded  as  standard. 

Making  a  Standard  of  the  Right   Way  and 
Recording  It 

Depending  on  the  size  of  the  business  and  its  char- 
acter, these  standards  may  require  for  their  recording 
only  one  or  two  scrap  books  or  a  large  group  of  filing 
cabinets.  In  this  office,  the  record  was  made  in  two 
blank  books — a  Book  of  Standards  and  a  supplementary 
volume  containing  exact  instructions  for  the  minor  oper- 
ations peculiar  to  the  business.  One  book  might  have 
served  for  both ;  division  and  classification  simply  saved 
time  for  the  person  consulting  the  records;  and  time- 
saving  and  efficiency  are  the  primary  purposes. 

The  Book  of  Standards  thus  grew  week  by  week  to  be 
a  text-book  of  the  business  in  its  office  phases.  By  study 
of  the  instructions,  blank  forms,  blue  prints,  and  spe- 
cifications for  supplies  posted  in  the  stores  section,  for 
example,  any  intelligent  man  could  equip,  arrange  and 
operate  an  exact  duplicate  of  the  company's  storeroom 
and  furnish  every  supply  needed  by  any  department 
without  consulting  anyone  in  that  department.  The 
same  thing  was  true,  in  time,  of  every  office  activity. 


34  OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 

Wherever  a  process  is  routine,  it  is  analyzed  and  a 
right  way  built  up  for  it,  whether  it  pertains  to  the 
president  or  an  office  boy.  Everybody  regardless  of 
rank  is  given  standard  means  of  getting  his  work  com- 
pleted. In  the  bookkeeping  department,  ledger  posting 
work  was  timed  with  the  result  that  those  postings  re- 
quiring some  thought  were  standardized  at  sixty  per 
hour.  Two  hundred  was  the  figure  decided  upon  for 
posting  direct  from  carbon  sheets  of  invoices.  Thus  in 
an  eight  hour  day  a  worker  should  make  sixteen  hundred 
entries  of  the  latter  class.  Another  standard  described 
the  exact  procedure  to  obtain  abatement  of  customs 
duties  on  certain  materials  imported.  This  was  usually 
the  task  of  the  general  manager:  during  his  absence  it 
had  two  or  three  times  fallen  to  lesser  executives,  who, 
for  lack  of  knowledge,  had  bungled  it.  Yet  after  the 
correct  method  had  been  reduced  to  writing  and  inserted 
in  its  proper  place  in  the  Book  of  Standards,  any  one  of 
the  forty  men  in  the  office  could  secure  the  abatement. 

Exact  methods  make  a  strong  point  of  identification. 
Where  there  is  any  division  of  duties,  everything  is 
labelled.  Even  the  office  boys  wear  number  badges. 
They  are  required  to  put  their  numbers  on  all  documents 
which  they  handle,  as  in  filing,  so  that  responsibility 
can  be  traced.  The  same  rule  applies  to  all  throughout 
the  office.  When  executive  or  subordinate  knows  that  a 
resulting  loss  is  certain  to  be  laid  at  his  door,  he  will  be 
careful  not  to  break  the  rules. 

Every  part  of  every  office  has  a  "best"  way  in  which 
a  particular  item  of  work  may  be  performed.  A  west- 
ern manufacturing  company  secures  a  higher  grade  of 
general  clerical  service  by  making  it  a  point  to  acquaint 


BETTER  WAYS  TO  DO  WORK  35 

the  new  employees  with  every  kind  of  work  in  the  office. 
They  figure  that  the  new  man  is  in  a  receptive  mental 
state  and  can  be  taught  how  to  perform  his  work  cor- 
rectly before  his  habits  crystallize  into  inefficiency. 
Showing  him  all  parts  of  the  plants  gives  him  the  "why 
and  wherefore"  of  his  duties. 

There  are  two  general  ways  in  which  employees  are 
shown  how  to  perform  their  duties.  The  first,  more 
common  and  human,  is  to  put  the  newcomer  under  the 
wing  of  an  experienced  employee.  The  length  of  time 
during  which  the  guiding  hand  is  kept  over  the  novice 
depends  upon  the  complexity  of  the  work  and  the  in- 
telligence of  the  new  employee.  The  second  way,  more 
scientific  and  thorough,  is  the  use  of  the  standard  book, 
showing  exactly  and  completely  the  way  to  perform 
"Job  18 ".  Both  have  their  advantages. 

A  combination  of  the  two  has  often  proved  best.  In 
one  firm  where  written  rules  are  given  each  employee, 
the  management  sees  that  they  are  read  and  understood, 
by  giving  semi-annual  examinations  to  the  workers.  Re- 
wards, together  with  the  discharge  of  disappointing* 
workers,  spurs  most  of  them  to  become  familiar  with  all 
phases  of  their  work. 


EVERY  unnecessary  movement  in 
the  office  wastes  time  and  energy 
that  properly  belongs  to  the  house.  But 
more  than  that,  the  energy  belongs  to 
the  worker  himself,  for  by  the  proper 
expenditure  of  his  efforts  his  own  value  to 
himself  and  to  the  house  is  determined. 


CHAPTER  V 

Making  Advancement  Fill 
Vacancies 

I  CAN'T  find  that  letter,  Mr.  Holmes.  I  must  have  mis- 
filed  it.  I'm  not  used  to  this  system  yet.  Over  at 
the  other  place  where  I  worked" — and  the  new  filing 
clerk  rambled  on  while  the  office  man  glared  out  of  the 
window.  He  was  vexed  because  the  recently  vacated 
position  had  been  filled  by  a  new  employee,  unfamiliar 
with  the  insurance  firm's  system. 

After  it  was  found  during  the  day  that  a  few  more 
letters  "must  have  been  misfiled",  the  correspondent  ex- 
plained the  situation  to  the  manager.  So  vehemently 
did  he  explain  that  a  new  training  system  was  shortly 
installed.  Each  position  in  the  routine  clerical  work 
was,  therefore,  "understudied"  by  clerks  on  the  "rung" 
below. 

Any  position  now  vacated  is  filled  by  one  who  luw 
studied  the  work  in  anticipation  of  an  advancement  to 
that  position.  A  capable  substitute  is  usually  in  train- 
ing for  any  place.  More  work  is  consequently  turned 
out.  And  when  there  is  a  vacancy,  it  causes  little  or 
no  break  in  the  work.  Just  as  an  obscure  understudy 

30 


MAKING  ADVANCEMENTS  37 

often  gives  a  performance  superior  to  that  of  the  self- 
satisfied  stage  star,  so  these  understudies  often  better  the 
past  records  of  their  new  places. 

Workers  will  not  take  full  interest  in  the  business  and 
put  their  personalities  into  it  unless  they  have  a  fair, 
personal  incentive. 

"Promotion  is  the  reward  we  hold  out,"  says  the 
manager  of  a  soap  business.  "Our  office  men  and  de- 
partment heads  have  nearly  all  been  trained  in  the  fac- 
tory. Some  of  them  have  been  with  the  firm  since  they 
left  school. 

"Most  of  the  salesmen,  too,  came  as  office  boys  and 
rose  through  the  ranks,  until  by  the  time  they  qualified 
for  better  positions  they  were  so  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  details  that  their  enthusiasm  and  knowledge 
were  sufficient  to  carry  them  through  any  situation. 
Often  the  loss  of  a  capable  man  opens  the  way  for  un- 
tried material  that  proves  even  better. ' ' 

There  are  numerous  vital  reasons  why  it  is  wise  to 
advance  employees  to  fill  vacancies  (Figure  V).  For  one 
thing:  each  firm  has  its  policies.  It  has  certain  ways 
in  which  work  is  to  be  done  that  differ  from  other  offices. 
One  firm  desires  its  stenographers  to  copy  single  spaced, 
with  double  spacing  between  paragraphs;  and  to  word 
the  complimentary  close,  "Very  truly  yours".  Another 
firm  has  a  letter  style  with  double  spacing,  no  extra 
space  between  paragraphs,  and  a  complimentary  close  of 
"Yours  truly".  We  can  see  many  such  differences  by 
picking  up  any  two  letters  from  different  firms  and  com- 
paring them.  Barely  are  two  exactly  alike ;  and  it  is  the 
same  with  other  office  work  which  the  outsider  does  not 
see.  The  worker  who  has  grown  familiar  with  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  business  and  with  whose  characteristics 


38  OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 

other  people  have  grown  familiar,  is  naturally  more 
valuable  than  a  green  hand. 

When  advanced  vacancies  are  filled  by  new  men,  more- 
over, we  see  the  dissatisfied  worker ;  the  man  who  is  side- 
tracked; who  to  satisfy  his  natural  and  commendable 
ambition  seeks  a  position  where  he  can  "grow". 

The  manager  of  an  office  in  a  Michigan  city  found  that 
he  was  being  forced  to  retrench  simply  because  his  force 
was  fluctuating.  As  everyone  knows,  breaking  in  a  new 
man — especially  in  the  better  grades  of  work — is  an  ex- 
pensive affair.  The  cost  varies  with  the  kind  of  work 
and  the  salary  paid,  but  the  very  lowest  is  not,  as  a  rule, 
very  much  under  fifty  dollars.  This  training  some- 
times takes  months.  With  a  force  fluctuating  as  his  was 
(over  twenty-five  per  cent  yearly)  a  great  amount  went 
towards  "breaking  in"  new  men,  many  of  whom  left 
just  when  they  had  become  fitted  to  their  work.  "A 
mistake  or  so,  and  out  you  go" — so  the  employees  took 
upon  themselves  to  find  positions  in  which  their  future 
was  more  certain. 

After  the  retirement  of  this  trouble-making  manager 
and  the  substitution  of  the  present  decidedly  human 
manager,  the  trouble  should  have  ceased.  But  it  didn't. 
The  employment  policy  of  the  firm  combined  with  the 
momentum  of  the  "run"  that  had  begun  years  back 
still  played  havoc.  This  policy  was  to  take  in  an  out- 
sider to  fill  whatever  position  was  vacated.  Even  though 
the  head  bookkeeper  changed  firms  a  new  man  went  into 
his  shoes. 

The  plan  in  doing  this  was  not  to  keep  workers  down. 
It  was  merely  to  avoid  shake-ups  as  much  as  possible. 
The  firm  wanted  to  keep  its  employees  at  the  work  in 
which — because  they  had  been  at  it  for  so  long  a  time— 


MAKING  ADVANCEMENTS 


tut  Higher  Executives  and 
Voucher  Men 

Assistant  Heads  of  Dcpts. 
Welfare  Workers 
Accountants 
Chemists 

Librarian 
Special  Adjusters 
Statisticians 
Chauffeurs 
Engineers 

Junior  Engineers. 
Bookkeepers 
Bill  Clerks 
Sales  Correspondents 
Head  Stenographers 

Stenographers 
Telephone  Operators 
House  Salespeople 
Junior  Bookkeepers 

•     Class  A   k 

"Salary 
above  $  120 

t                            t 

Maximum  increase  below 
Class  A  $5  on  a  monthly  salary 
each  year  for  three  years 

T 

-     Class  B    - 

Salary 
$  105-120 

T          i 

-     Class  C     - 

Salary 
$  90-  105 

How  One 
Office  Manager 
Outlined 
Advancement 

-     Class  D     - 

Salary 
$  75-90 

/  ,                              t 

Class  E    - 

Salary 
%  60-75 

T 

Junior  Stenographers 
Dictation  Machine  Operators 
Mail  Clerks 
Special  File  Clerks 

[Typists 
File  Clerks 
(Messengers 

j    Class  F     - 

Salary 
$  45-60 

T               1 

I 

All  lower  employees  considered 
applicants  for  every  vacancy  in 
grade  above.Promotion  awarded 
on  fitness,  merit  and  length  of 
service 

t                            t 

Class  G     - 

Salary 
$30-45 

f                ,              t 

Applicants  from  without  con- 
sidered only  for  places  in  class 
G  except  in  emergencies 

FIGURE  V:  When  vacancies  are  filled  by  advancing  employees  in  preference  to  out- 
siders, the  cost  of  "breaking  in"  the  new  occupant  of  a  position  is  reduced  to  a  minimum . 
In  fact,  among  employees  of  long  standing,  "breaking  in"  is  seldom  necessary.  A 
definite  salary  plan  helps  to  forestall  jealousies  and  charges  of  favoritism.  The  care- 
ful plan  here  shown  has  been  a  gratifying  success  in  all  these  respects 


40  OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 

they  were  highly  proficient.  Theoretically,  the  plan  was 
not  bad  from  the  employer's  viewpoint.  But  it  did  not 
work  out.  Instead  of  staying  at  the  work  in  which  prac- 
tice had  made  them  perfect,  they  found  positions  where 
their  ambition  could  at  least  partially  be  satisfied. 

The  house  disregarded  the  future  of  its  employees. 
Finally  the  manager  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this 
was  the  trouble.  He  tested  his  conjecture  by  actual 
practice.  New  men  were  only  taken  at  the  bottom.  As 
soon  as  the  employes  realized  the  reform,  the  changes  in 
the  corps  became  a  reasonable  per  cent.  The  new  em- 
ployment policy  turned  the  trick. 

Filling  a  position  is,  to  an  employee,  the  same  as  es- 
tablishing an  office  is  to  his  employer.  He  wants  to  gain 
a  firm  foothold  in  his  work  and  then  "stick"  with  the 
house,  building  up  a  better  place  for  himself  all  the 
while.  It  is — as  it  should  be — strictly  a  business  propo- 
sition with  him. 

The  danger  in  a  strict  seniority  plan  is  that  no  discre- 
tion remains  to  the  management ;  misfits  must  sometimes 
result,  and  exceptional  ability  be  lost  or  only  partially 
capitalized.  To  counteract  this  tendency,  it  is  wise 
wherever  possible  to  divide  workers  by  grades,  in  each 
of  which  various  kinds  of  work  are  included.  Everyone 
in  the  lower  grade  is  considered  for  any  vacancy  in  the 
one  next  higher.  Each  promotion  finally  hinges  on  what 
the  individual  is  especially  fitted  for. 

In  a  large  New  York  insurance  office  where  advance- 
ment is  thus  worked  out,  the  management  divides  the 
clerks  into  definite  groups  ranging  from  boys,  junior 
Hrrks,  senior  and  special  clerks  to  supervisory  and  tech- 
nical employees. 


MAKING  ADVANCEMENTS  41 

Besides  these  divisions  there  are  subdivisions  among 
some  of  these  such  as  copyists,  typists,  phonographers, 
calculating  machine  and  addressing  machine  operators. 
Above  these  classes  are  department  heads,  junior  officers 
and  executives. 

The  work  of  each  class  is  standardized  and  a  system 
of  minimum  and  maximum  compensation  established 
which  allows  the  hiring  of  workers  at  an  initial  salary 
fair  to  both  the  firm  and  the  clerk.  While  they  con- 
tinue in  the  same  class  they  may  gain  limited  increases 
in  salary  for  meritorious  work  or  length  of  service.  It 
is  mutually  understood  that  compensation  beyond  a  cer- 
tain maximum  will  be  secured  by  promotion. 

So  that  they  may  secure  larger  salaries  through  ad- 
vancement the  firm  is  endeavoring  to  establish  a  series 
of  training  lessons  to  make  their  clerks  competent  for 
more  important  work.  The  operations  of  each  position 
have  been  put  on  paper  in  black  and  white,  and  each 
clerk  studies  the  functions  connected  with  any  position 
of  the  notch  above  that  interests  him. 


SURROUND  yourself  with  men  in 
whom  you  have  confidence  and  then 
put  confidence  in  them;  aim  to  give 
them  the  highest  ideals  of  life.      Make 
them  better  citizens  and  they  will  then 
be  better  workmen.     Recognize  merit. 
Promote  from  the  ranks.     Help  your 
men  keep  out  of  a  rut.     Most  of  our 
executives  have  grown  up  in  our  service. 
— E.  P.  Ripley 


CHAPTER  VI 

Employment   Methods   That 
Hold  Help 

HIRE  a  bookkeeper,  a  mail  clerk  and  two  office 
boys, ' '  boomed  the  manager 's  voice  over  the  wires 
to  the  employment  head  at  the  other  end  of  the  building. 

With  a  word  of  assent  the  latter  hung  up  the  receiver 
and  wrote  three  want  advertisements  which  were  duly 
sent  to  the  newspapers.  Numbers  of  applicants  came  in 
response.  Men  were  taken  on  to  fill  the  vacant  positions, 
and  the  sign  was  put  out :  "No  more  help  wanted ' '. 

Yet  how  that  sign  erred !  Among  those  turned  away 
was  the  very  bookkeeper  needed;  the  mail  clerk  whom 
the  manager  had  in  mind ;  and  two  keen  office  boys. 

In  this  single  instance  the  bookkeeper  lasted  until 
"trial  balance  day";  the  mail  clerk  still  holds  his  job — 
by  a  bare  thread ;  and  the  two  office  boys  were  discharged 
before  the  end  of  the  week. 

Not  a  mile  from  this  concern  is  another,  about  as 
large  and  in  the  same  line  of  business.  Practically  no 
man  who  gets  on  its  payroll  is  discharged.  It  isn't 
necessary. 

At  the  latter  concern,  the  manager — a  shrewd,  far- 


METHODS  OF  HIRING  43 

seeing  leader — has  written  down,  in  black  and  white, 
just  exactly  what  he  wants  to  have  in  each  worker — the 
qualities  that  the  successful  applicants  must  have  for  the 
respective  positions.  For  each  position,  no  matter  how 
trivial,  he  gives  detailed  information.  The  employment 
head,  a  skilled  and  experienced  second  to  his  manager, 
carefully  compares  applicants  with  the  requirements 
and  by  simple  tests  that  probe  for  the  needed  qualities, 
picks  the  best  (page  30). 

A  wholesale  house  large  enough  to  warrant  an  em- 
ployment department,  has  printed  blanks  for  the  use  of 
the  various  heads,  to  be  filled  out  by  them  when  new 
men  are  desired  (Form  II). 

The  requisitioner  first  gets  formal  permission  from  the 
general  manager  to  take  on  the  men  desired.  Permission 
granted,  he  states  exactly  the  kind  of  man  he  wants  and 
why  he  wants  him :  because  he  has  discharged  a  worker ; 
because  one  has  left ;  because  of  an  advancement ;  or  be- 
cause of  permanently  increased  work  which  indicates 
additional  help.  This  information,  recorded  day  by  day, 
grows  into  valuable  annual  records  for  enlightening  the 
manager  on  employment  conditions. 

In  this  firm  also  the  qualities  for  each  position  have 
been  quite  definitely  decided  upon.  Individual  forms 
have  been  printed  for  bookkeepers,  billing  clerks  and 
machine  operators.  Then,  as  he  interviews  each  appli- 
cant, this  employer  puts  a  grade  after  each  quality,  as 
courtesy  90%  perfect.  The  qualities  have  a  wide  range 
from  such  extremes  as  "hand  writing"  to  "personality". 

After  all  the  applicants  have  had  their  say,  the  man- 
ager glances  over  the  cards  and  picks  out  those  nearest 
the  "hundred"  mark  for  a  final  talk  to  see  with  which 
ones  he  can  make  terms. 


44  OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 

Out  of  this  sifting,  he  selects  the  two  or  three  with 
whom  he  has  made  the  best  bargains  and  sends  them  to 
the  requisitioner  for  final  selection. 

This  double  check  on  the  selection  insures,  in  nearly 
every  case,  an  excellent  man  at  a  moderate  expense. 

The  head  of  a  small  office  is  likely  to  be  careless  about 
finding  out  the  health  of  applicants.  Losses  from  this 
cause  are  important,  however.  This  applies  both  to 
hiring  and  keeping  the  worker  in  health.  Ailments  have 
been  held  to  cut  ability  in  half.  While  the  word 
"health"  deals  mainly  with  physical  well  being,  the 
mental  condition  of  a  worker  needs  to  be  considered. 
There  is  nothing  more  destructive  to  efficiency  than 
mental  ill  health. 

In  a  particular  office  where  some  fifty  girls  are  em- 
ployed, the  woman  who  is  at  the  head  of  them  keeps  a 
careful  watch  for  mental  distress  and  makes  it  her  busi- 
ness to  unearth  the  trouble  and  remove  or  at  least  allevi- 
ate it.  This  "big-sister"  work  has  brought  a  surprising 
increase  of  production. 

Many  application  blanks  carry  questions  concerning 
the  health  of  the  applicant  and  that  of  relatives  who 
might  possibly  have  a  contagious  disease.  In  one  hard- 
ware concern,  if  the  applicant  reports  that  a  relative  is 
afflicted  with  tuberculosis  or  cancer,  for  example,  the 
prospective  employee  is  examined  for  that  disease.  If 
found  free  of  it,  the  fact  that  it  is  in  the  family  is  dis- 
regarded. 

There  are  various  ways  of  handling  this  problem  tact- 
fully. A  large  firm  in  Illinois  formerly  had  many  ques- 
tions pertaining  to  health  in  their  blanks.  This  has 
been  done  away  with.  A  doctor  now  takes  the  place  of 


METHODS  OP  HIRING  45 

printer's  ink.  This  plan  is  more  satisfactory  in  sereral 
self-evident  ways.  The  applicant  is  examined  by  the 
physician  immediately  after  he  has  been  tentatively  em- 
ployed. This  examination  extends  from  office  employees 
to  the  manual  workers  in  the  shipping  department. 

The  girl  worker,  who  constitutes  the  greater  part  of 
the  class  designated  as  junior  clerks,  is  a  distinct  unit  in 
the  employment  system.  "In  hiring  girl  workers  it  is 


Requisition  for  Employees 


EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENT 


Kindly  furnish  on. 
to  fin  position  as_ 


To  begin  work  <^^£    ./? 

Qualification  desirable . 
Experience-necessary- 


Position  -tampa'ary-  permanent 
Needed  on  account  of 
Rate  about 

Per  (£ 

DEPARTMENT  MGR. 
Remarks  by  Employment  Supervisor 


FORM  II:    When  a  new  employee  is  desired,  the  department  head  fills  out  this  form 

and  sends  it  to  the  employment  department.      The  employment  head  scans  the 

applicants  with  a  view  to  meeting  the  requirements  of  the  requisitioner 

scarcely  possible  to  use  the  magnetism  of  advancement 
when  bargaining  with  applicants, ' '  says  the  manager  be- 
fore mentioned.  "Better  working  conditions  and  short 
hours,  are  alluring  inducements." 

"What  is  the  hardest  knot  in  hiring?"  repeated  a 
successful  employment  head.  "Hiring  is  like  giving 
credit;  you  may  be  too  lax  and  accept  dishonest  em- 


46  OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 

ployees,  on  whom  you  lose  heavily,  or  accept  better  em- 
ployees at  too  high  a  price;  or  you  may  be  too  strict 
and  offend  workers,  who  will  damage  your  good  will  in 
the  labor  market. 

"I  carefully  set  a  price  on  each  position  in  the  office 
and  then  try  to  get  the  best  man  at  the  price.  Of 
course,  I  allow  this  price  to  fluctuate  a  few  dollars.  If  I 
see  a  man  or  girl  that  I  want  in  my  employ  I  do  not  let 
a  difference  of  a  small  amount  cut  any  figure  in  the 
negotiation.  But  I  don't  allow  my  'tryout'  salary 
standards  to  vary  to  any  appreciable  extent. 

"In  bargaining  with  the  applicant  that  I  want,  I 
then  try  to  make  him  see  all  the  values  the  position 
honestly  includes — the  value  of  experience  and  reputa- 
tion to  be  gained  in  the  performance  of  the  work  (espe- 
cially if  he  is  a  young  man)  and  how  far  it  is  possible 
for  him  to  climb;  the  minor  details  of  vacations,  our 
bonus  plan  and  the  like.  In  other  words,  I  try  to  keep 
away  from  the  mistake  many  employers  make,  of  sup- 
posing that  their  men,  unlike  themselves,  live  wholly  to 
work.  Since  there  are  many  agreeable  features  in  our 
house's  policies,  applicants  are  usually  willing  to  come 
into  the  office  for  a  reasonable  amount. 

"Accurate  credit  methods  also  have  a  place  here,  in 
the  investigation  of  character  among  prospective  em- 
ployees. I  know  of  one  case  where  a  youngster  was  sys- 
tematically robbing  the  employer  and  clearing  out ;  then 
working  at  another  office,  getting  the  job  by  offering  to 
begin  for  next  to  nothing  if  sure  of  opportunity ;  getting 
references  and  leaving  to  enter  the  employ  of  another 
firm ;  filching  here,  clearing  out  and  beginning  the  whole 
procedure  over  again. 


METHODS  OF  HIRING  47 

"The  worst  of  such  a  situation  is  that  when  the  news 
spreads  about  the  office  that  this  or  that — perhaps  cur- 
rency— has  been  stolen,  the  effect  on  the  office  force  is 
intensely  demoralizing.  Only  a  strict  credit  policy  as 
regards  investigation,  references  and  prosecution  in  the 
employment  department,  coupled  with  working  condi- 
tions that  do  not  leave  temptingly  loose  ends,  will  solve 
this  problem  in  any  office. 

"And  then  there  is  another  demoralizing  influence; 
that  of  having  the  worker  who  is  tried  out,  found  want- 
ing and  discharged,  to  go  about  hinting  that  his  former 
office  is  a  poor  place  to  work:  'They  don't  give  you  a 
chance,  and  pay  starvation  wages — '.  Often  the  truth 
of  the  matter  is  that  the  worker  failed  to  earn  even  his 
*  starting  in'  figures,  and  gave  his  superior  no  grounds 
for  encouraging  him  further. 

"The  way  out  of  this  difficulty,  I  have  found,  is  to 
come  to  a  definite  understanding  with  every  worker  in 
the  beginning.  Tell  him  frankly  instead  of  hinting  at 
it  or  letting  him  take  it  for  granted,  that  he  is  not  per- 
manently hired.  State  the  length  of  time  to  ensue 
before  you  can  come  to  a  definite  decision.  Establish  a 
follow-up  card  pack  which  will  remind  you  to  review 
every  man's  wages  and  revise  them  in  line  with  any 
promise  or  merit. 

"Since  I  have  adopted  this  plan  of  candid  negotiation, 
I  have  had  little  understanding.  When  I  am  com- 
pelled to  discharge  a  worker,  he  never  leaves  before  I 
have  a  friendly  and  helpful  talk  with  him.  The  result 
has  not  been  all  to  be  desired,  but  it  has  been  a  great 
improvement. ' ' 


CHAPTER  VII 
Making  Payday  Pay 

T  'VE  certainly  been  fortunate, "  says  a  certain  employer. 
*  "Why,  I'm  paying  one  of  my  men  $7,000  per  year. 
Then  I  have  a  number  of  other  men  looking  after  differ- 
ent ends  of  my  business.  I  am  paying  each  of  them 
$2,000  a  year.  I  give  each  of  them  a  Christmas  present 
of  $3,000  a  year.  It  isn't  the  salary  they  work  for — it's 
the  present.  And  I  get  results  from  them,  too.  It 
pays." 

The  amounts  make  this  an  exceptional  case,  but  the 
principle  is  significant.  It  indicates  how  office  heads  are 
growing  away  from  the  set  wage,  acknowledging  that 
every  individual  has  his  own  ambition  to  progress  and 
offering  prizes  to  the  detail  manager  and  even  the  routine 
clerk  who  can  thus  be  spurred  to  greater  or  better-di- 
rected effort.  Piece  work,  the  payment  of  a  bonus,  gifts, 
voluntary  increases  and  various  profit-sharing  plans  have 
all  been  tried  in  office  work,  with  varying  success. 

One  of  the  most  common  plans  has  been  to  give  the 
employees  a  percentage  of  the  annual  profits.  The  per- 
centage has  ranged  from  %  to  10%.  Obviously  the 
amounts — and  the  methods  of  distribution  also — vary. 


MAKING  PAYDAY  PAY  49 

The  return  in  loyalty  and  thinking  service  has  usually, 
however,  been  adequate. 

A  customer  of  a  French  printing  firm  in  which  this 
policy  is  in  force,  received  proof  sheets  three  times  in 
the  same  envelope.  On  asking  why  this  happened,  he  re- 
ceived the  following  answer  from  the  clerk:  " Because 
in  our  business  profit-sharing  has  been  introduced." 

Another  plan  is  rewarding  department  heads  for  the 
gain  in  their  respective  departments.  On  the  face  of  it, 
this  seems  liberal  enough ;  and  when  a  firm  gives  a  de- 
partment head  a  reward,  disregarding  a  month  in  which 
there  was  a  marked  loss,  it  may  seem  too  liberal.  Such 
an  act  of  an  eastern  wholesale  grocery,  however,  proved 
it  to  be  only  good  business. 

Their  "dried  fruit"  man  had  had  a  brilliant  record 
for  eleven  months.  Then  he  made  a  bad  deal,  losing 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  for  his  firm.  In  this  particular 
establishment  the  bonus  is  a  definite  percentage. 

When  "bonus"  time  arrived  this  department  head 
found  his  reward  based  on  his  successful  months,  and 
the  last  month,  the  note  informed  him,  would  be  added 
to  the  coming  year.  This  gave  him  a  fighting  chance. 
And  with  the  intense  gratitude  and  enthusiasm  his  em- 
ployer's generous  act  had  instilled  in  him,  he  was  able 
to  bring  his  profits  up  to  normal  for  the  next  year,  even 
though  the  deficit  of  the  preceding  year  was  considered. 

Payment  Plants  That  Succeed  with  Machine 
Operators  and  Boys 

Other  methods  of  paying  a  bonus  are  to  give  the  em- 
ployees whose  efforts  do  not  show  up  in  "black  and 
white"  whatever  the  boss  thinks  is  right,  and  to  make 


50  OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 

an  extra  payment  to  the  girl  worker  as  the  basis  of  her 
record — the  stenographer,  the  addresser,  the  typist  and 
the  like. 

The  last  named  involved  a  different  bonus  principle. 
The  overamount  is  paid  every  week  or  twice  a  month. 
The  extra  payment  is  made  for  different  reasons  than 
those  given  to  the  male  employees.  "Over"  payment  to 
girl  workers  is  a  reward  for  the  present  work — and  an 
immediate  encouragement  to  further  efforts.  In  the 
case  of  higher  employees,  the  extra  pay  seeks  to  buy 
judgment,  loyalty  and  permanence  of  service. 

To  make  the  short-time  bonus  plan  profitable,  it  is 
usual  to  gauge  the  work  by  the  results  of  the  capable 
and  conscientious  workers.  The  spur  of  extra  pay  will 
soon  bring  the  laggards  up  into  this  class.  Of  course, 
an  offer  of  this  sort  will  rarely  make  a  good  worker  out 
of  a  poor  one.  It  has  a  remarkable  influence  on  the 
middle  averages  of  work,  however,  and  enables  the  man- 
ager to  weed  out  the  hopelessly  poor  or  indolent  workers 
with  little  difficulty. 

The  production  in  the  addressing  department  of  one 
business  house  increased  from  3,353  names  the  first  week 
to  40,779  during  the  eighth  week  of  the  experiment;  an 
increase  of  1,200%.  This  was  the  outcome  of  a  bonus 
offer  of  two  dollars  per  month  for  every  additional  two 
hundred  per  day  over  one  thousand.  To  keep  out  errors 
that  creep  in  when  there  is  an  incentive  for  speed  and 
resulting  quantity,  two  cents  was  deducted  for  every 
error  revealed  in  proof  reading. 

The  frequency  of  payday  among  office  workers  ranges, 
as  a  rule,  from  weekly  to  semi-monthly.  In  some  houses 
where  other  departments  overshadow  the  office — say  for 


MAKING  PAYDAY  PAY 


51 


an  example,  a  commission  house — where  the  "hustlers"' 
out-number  the  office  force,  their  payment  plan  (once  a 
week)  extends  to  the  office  workers.  This  is  true  because 
two  payment  methods  would  cause  too  much  clerical 
work  and  precipitate  confusion  (Form  III). 


PAYROLL     PERIOD  ENDING         \uJ^Y'  J/                     1dl 

L. 

DEPARTMENT     jzjL^t^rtxtJ^t^-     ^ 

CHECK  NO. 

NAME 

MONTHLY 
RATE 

SPECIAL 

DEBIT 

DISTRIBUTION 

PAYROLL 

20 

S71 

F21 

S22 

F22 

w 

FORWARDED 

11 

o  oc 

/ 

5  (,  30 

i 

'/  Jttf 

/  $o& 

/  /  (70 

;  g« 

.  & 

2 

'.  •  f 

3 

7<  5 

w.'VuJU^ 

It 

0   CO 

re  co 

IIQO 

'  I    cV 

5  CC- 

3 

7  (,(. 

4-XJ  ^Vck 

1  S 

g   -. 

'S  00 

0<J  <?0 

00 

! 

" 

3 

767 

<^u^^L*«- 

1  1 

('  :v 

5  00 

IS  00 

'  $  OS 

'  }•; 

. 

C'  '•(' 

-  - 

DEPT.  TOTAL 

FORM  III:    On  this  sheet  the  payroll  totals  are  assembled,  distributed  and  receipted 
by  check  numbers  in  one  large  office.    Time  cards  and  checks  complete  the  routine 

Planning  a  good  mechanical  payment  system  is  a  point 
to  be  considered.  A  small  office  in  the  west  furnishes  an 
example  of  simple  and  inexpensive  methods  of  making 
payment. 

A  list  of  names  of  those  on  the  payroll  and  the 
amount  coming  to  them  is  made  out  for  each  payday. 
The  time  clerk  sends  in  her  report  of  the  absentees.  The 
proper  deductions  are  made  by  the  assistant  paymaster. 
In  all  this  work  the  clerks  are  greatly  aided  by  labor- 
saving  devices.  In  the  first  place,  names  are  printed  on 
the  payroll  sheets  by  addressing  machines;  the  total  is 
computed  in  adding  machines;  and  so  rapidly  and  ac- 
curately is  the  work  done  that  the  expense  is  reduced  to 


52 


OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 


a  small  fraction  of  the  cost  when  written  in  by  hand  and 
checked  back.  Pay  envelopes  are  likewise  printed  on 
this  machine,  thus  insuring  absolute  accuracy  and  effect- 
ing considerable  saving  in  both  time  and  cost. 

An  amount  exactly  equal  to  the  total  payroll  is  depos- 
ited in  the  bank  in  a  special  payroll  account  and  the 
checks  are  drawn  on  this  account. 

An  envelope  is  made  out  for  each  one  on  the  payroll. 
The  paymaster  writes  out  the  checks  and  puts  them  in 
the  corresponding  envelopes.  This  is  cheap  work,  but 
the  paymaster,  (whose  other  duties  are  that  of  auditor 
and  cashier)  wants  to  take  no  chances  on  having  a  care- 
less clerk  put  the  manager's  check  in  the  office  boy's 
envelope  and  vice  versa — giving  that  youngster  an  oppor- 


Date 

Salary 

Amount 

Signature 

Date 

Salary 

Amount 

Signature 

^x 

* 

4-0 

M 

JJa^&i,  (ftviJef 

'3//, 

* 

+0 

tt 

3<£aAsC>€ct   (P<a*J*<L, 

FORM  IV:    A  pay  envelope  which  can  be  printed  to  cover  either  six  or  twelve  months' 

pay,  monthly  or  semi-monthly,  and  which   also  serves  for  the  same  time  as  a  receipt. 

It  reduces  costs  in  material  and  penmanship 

tunity  to  publish  the  figures  of  the  executive's  salary  all 
over  the  office.  A  clerk  then  goes  about  the  office  dis- 
tributing them.  The  cancelled  checks  are,  of  course,  the 
receipts. 

"Formerly  we  paid  in  cash,"  says  the  paymaster. 
"In  many  small  places  this  method  is  still  in  vogue.    I 


MAKING  PAYDAY  PAY  53 

would  carefully  count  out  the  cash  for  the  total  payroll, 
in  a  heap  at  one  side  of  the  desk.  Then  I  would  fill  the 
addressed  envelopes.  I  knew  that  I  had  made  a  mistake 
if  any  currency  or  envelopes  remained  after  one  or  the 
other  was  exhausted. 

"Each  worker,  on  receiving  his  envelope  at  the  cash- 


o 


OFFICE  CHECK    NOT  TRANSFERABLE 


t  C.  PHILLIPS  AND  COMPANY 


PAY    vy^^K^Zy   &^t^£s  /^r- DOLLARS 

^AND  CHARGE  SAME  TO  MY  ACCOUNT 
Counttrsifiitf 


FORM  V:    In  another  office,  once  a  week — on  payday — the  employee  fills  out  this 

form  and  sends  it  to  the  salary  clerk  for  his  signature.      Then  he  secures  the  stated 

sum  in  cash  from  the  cashier,  in  return  for  the  slip.      This  serves  as  a  receipt  and 

as  a  means  of  identification 

ier's  cage,  signed  a  receipt.  That  was  all  there  was  to 
that.  Paying  by  check  is  more  satisfactory,  however, 
even  if  it  involves  more  work." 

In  an  office  employing  about  fifty  clerks,  and  where 
it  is  not  deemed  advisable  to  pay  by  individual  check, 
Salaries  are  paid  semi-monthly  according  to  this  plan: 
Names  are  listed  in  a  trial  balance  book,  and  as  there 
are  twenty-four  columns  to  the  year  (twelve  "Dr."  and 
twelve  "Cr.")  this  saves  relisting  of  names  twenty-three 
times  a  year,  and,  in  addition,  serves  as  a  permanent 
record  of  all  such  payments  and  is  easy  of  reference. 

Each  payday  a  check  is  cashed  for  the  total  of  the 
current  column  and  the  individual  amounts,  in  suitable 
denominations  (thus  avoiding  future  reference  to  the 


OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 


cashier  for  change)  are  placed  in  stout  envelopes  lined 
inside  with  linen.  This  envelope  is  sufficiently  large  to 
receive  unfolded  paper  currency  and  is  ruled  on  the  out- 
side (Form  IV). 

One  envelope  is  assigned  to  each  employee  and  is  ruled 
for  entry  of  twenty-four  pay  records.  The  name,  ad- 
dress, and  number  of  the  payee  appear  at  the  top  of  the 
envelope.  Each  payday  a  clerk  in  the  office  enters  the 


NO. 


V 


Occupation 


Received  from 

A:  H.  Gleason  &  Co. 

In  full  of  all  services 


Rate. 


Pay  roll  No. 


From 


To 


Signature 


^  /3 


/<?/*/ 


FORM  VI:  This  card  was  devised  as  a  substitute  for  more  cumbersome  forms  of 
payroll  receipt.  It  makes  it  possible  to  keep  confidential  the  individual  worker's 

salary 

amount  and  date  of  the  payment  in  the  envelope  and  the 
cash  is  enclosed.  When  the  employee  receives  his  pay  he 
signs  his  name  and  the  envelope  is  returned. 

Paying  in  cash  has  a  drawback  when  a  payroll  book 
is  used  to  secure  the  receipts  of  the  worker.  A  St.  Louis 
employer  met  and  overcame  this  stumbling  block. 

It  was  easy  for  one  employee,  when  signing  the  book, 
to  ascertain  the  amount  drawn  by  a  fellow  workman. 
This  caused  dissatisfaction.  Further,  this  employer 
found  that  the  use  of  individual  receipts  necessitated  too 
much  work  in  the  treasurer's  department,  and  did  not 
allow  satisfactory  reference  files. 


MAKING  PAYDAY  PAY  55 

In  order  to  save  time  and  expense,  a  card  (Form  VI) 
was  devised.  One  is  allotted  to  each  employee.  It  is 
made  out  by  the  treasurer's  department  at  the  beginning 
of  each  year,  or  whenever  a  man  enters  the  service. 
Each  employee  is  given  a  number,  and  this  is  entered 
on  his  payroll  card,  in  addition  to  his  name,  occupation 
and  the  rate  of  pay  he  receives.  The  card  is  filed  ac- 
cording to  number,  with  an  alphabetical  cross  reference 
file.  It  answers  as  a  payroll  receipt  for  one  year. 

The  payroll  number  is  filled  in  every  payday,  and  the 
period  stamped  in  with  a  rubber  stamp,  followed  by 
the  amount  of  wages.  The  employee  signs  his  name  in 
the  final  column,  thus  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the 
money  due  him. 

The  system  has  done  away  with  the  payroll  book,  and 
cut  the  number  of  receipts  from  twenty-four  a  year  to 
one  card  for  each  employee.  In  addition  to  this,  there 
is  a  clear  pay  record  for  the  individual,  giving  at  a 
glance  the  date  he  entered  the  service,  the  amount 
drawn  for  the  year,  when  his  salary  was  increased;  or, 
in  case  he  was  discharged,  it  gives  the  date  and  the  rea- 
sons for  dismissal. 


THE  acme  of  system  is  automatically 
to  care  for  routine  and  matters 
that  recur  with  mechanical  regularity 
—to   remove    the    superfluous    detail 
from   the  brain   and  leave   it   free  to 
plan  and  create. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
Getting  the  Force  to  Pull  Together 

T^ORMERLY,"  says  the  manager  of  a  large  Pitts- 
A  burg  office,  "I  found  it  necessary  to  keep  a  num- 
ber of  mediocre  people  on  the  payroll  for  use  during 
rush  seasons.  This  plan  was  exceedingly  expensive.  I 
had  tried  using  green  help,  and  that,  too,  had  panned 
out  poorly.  For  the  little  they  accomplished,  their  re- 
muneration reached  an  expensive  figure.  Then  I  set 
about  to  devise  some  plan  whereby  I  could  dispense  with 
the  services  of  these  substitutes.  I  realized  that  this 
change  could  not  take  place  over  night.  I  began  slowly, 
therefore,  to  take  selected  clerks  of  the  various  depart- 
ments and  transferred  them  about  the  office  when  they 
had  spare  time,  so  that  they  could  gradually  learn  other 
phases  of  the  work.  Later  on,  as  my  workers  became 
more  versatile  in  the  office  work,  I  dropped  my  substitute 
force,  one  by  one. 

"That  summer,  with  the  advent  of  vacation  time,  came 
a  splendid  opportunity  further  to  train  these  workers. 
There  were  temporary  vacancies  to  be  filled  all  over  the 
office.  When  September  came,  I  had  a  corps  of  emer- 
gency clerks  who  were  competent  to  take  up  the  work  in 
other  parts  of  the  office  at  short  notice. 


N 


WINNING  COOPERATION  57 

"When  a  vacancy  occurs,  there  is  always  some  one 
ready  to  step  in  temporarily  or  permanently.  A  rush 
season  in  one  department  usually  finds  extra  workers 
nearby  who  can  pitch  in  with  a  helping,  experienced 
hand." 

So  this  manager  epitomizes  his  solution  of  one  prob- 
lem of  getting  more  from  the  working  force:  econom- 
ically overcoming  the  difficulty  of  rush  periods  which 
hit  various  departments  at  some  time  each  year. 

A  manufacturing  and  wholesaling  house  uses  a  similar 
plan  in  its  office.  Chances  are  given  the  ambitious  peo- 
ple to  read  about,  watch  and  assist  in  operations  adja- 
cent to  their  own.  Examinations  are  held  annually  in 
which  workers  can  demonstrate  proficiency  in  the  duties 
of  other  departments.  These  examinations  consist  of 
questions  relating  to  the  work  of  the  respective  depart- 
ments. Those  who  answer  their  questions  with  the  few- 
est errors  and  in  the  most  thorough  and  satisfactory 
manner  are  given  prizes.  One  goes  to  the  men  and  an- 
other to  the  girls. 

After  the  examination  papers  have  been  graded,  the 
marks  are  posted  throughout  the  building  and  the  win- 
ners receive  rewards  at  a  meeting  in  the  general  office. 
This  gathering  is  distinctly  a  social  affair. 

As  to  getting  enough  power  out  of  the  working  force 
to  overcome  rush  periods,  the  office  manager  of  a  wide- 
awake sales  office  says :  "I  am  having  clerks  in  the  cir- 
cularizing department  trained  in  daily  periods  of  two 
hours  each  to  learn  the  work  of  the  checking  depart- 
ment. An  experienced  checking  girl  is  the  instructor. 
The  incentive  I  gave  this  girl  is  a  wage  increase  if  she 
succeeds  in  training  enough  girls  for  our  next  rush  sea- 
son. I  find  that  giving  these  'instructors'  monetary  in- 


58  OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 

centives  overcomes  the  natural  reluctance  they  have  to 
teaching  others  their  work. ' ' 

One  firm  recently  had  a  "rush  season"  in  its  filing 
department  due  to  a  proposed  change  in  the  filing  sys- 
tem. There  were  exactly  235,776  cards  to  be  filed.  The 
task  would  have  taken  the  several  filing  clerks  weeks  to 
complete.  As  it  was  the  employees  of  the  company  were 
asked  to  stay  one  night  to  work  at  filing.  With  hundreds 
of  hands  working  on  the  cards,  the  task  was  completed 
that  evening.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  game  is  a  good 
thing  for  a  force.  Rush  periods  can,  not  infrequently, 
be  taken  care  of  with  the  same  amount  of  time  and 
workers  as  are  ordinarily  used.  Sluggishness,  due  to 
slack  work,  often  is  thrown  off  when  busy  seasons  occur. 
The  workers  speed  up  to  their  maximum  and  find  a  new 
interest  in  the  setting  of  records. 

How  to  Make  Costs  Measure  Down   to  Income 
during  Slack  Periods 

Fortunately  both  for  the  office  and  its  workers,  busi- 
ness in  most  lines  is  dull  during  the  summer,  when  vaca- 
tions are  most  desirable  to  the  rank  and  file.  One  man- 
ager always  secures  first  and  second  vacation  choices 
from  everyone  in  advance  so  that  he  can  adjust  the  sum- 
mer force  to  the  work,  and  have  full  values  when  busi- 
ness picks  up  in  the  fall. 

"But  what  about  vacations  in  my  business,  which  has 
its  busy  season  in  summer  ? ' '  many  office  men  have  asked, 
and  that  question  is  answered  by  the  manager  of  an 
office  in  an  ice  distributing  concern. 

"We  have  found  that  Christmas  time  is  considered 
not  half  bad  for  vacation  time,  especially  by  the  girls. 
Devotees  of  winter  sports  enjoy  a  vacation  during  any  of 


WINNING  COOPERATION  59 

the  cold  months.  And  fall  and  winter  find  the  nimrods 
of  the  office  anxious  to  be  off.  Many  employees  are  in- 
different as  to  the  time  of  their  vacation.  This  leaves 
few  who  really  object  to  the  winter  vacation.'* 

Other  offices,  to  meet  slack  periods,  cut  time  like  fac- 
tories. Sometimes  the  day's  work  is  shortened  a  half 
hour  to  three  hours ;  or  the  working  week  is  cut  to  f our 
or  five  days. 

When  slack  time  affects  particular  departments  only, 
the  plan  first  mentioned,  of  teaching  a  worker  to  be 
"jack-of-all-departments",  comes  in  handy.  The  forces 
in  the  over-manned  departments  may  be  reduced  and  the 
resulting  surplus  of  help  shifted  to  those  departments 
that  can  conveniently  use  more  help. 

It  is  plain  that  to  gain  the  best  efforts  from  employees 
the  hearty  and  complete  good  will  of  the  working  force 
is  required.  Worry  a  horse  and  notice  how  quickly  he 
tires  out.  Irritate  a  working  force  and  notice  the  de- 
crease in  the  output.  Some  office  managers  get  more 
work  for  less  money  than  others,  because  they  keep  irri- 
tations down  and  give  their  people  a  sense  of  team  spirit. 

Ideal  working  conditions  will  improve  a  worker's  out- 
put for  sheer  psychological  reasons.  A  dusty  desk,  one 
manager  believes,  is  enough  to  materially  decrease  the 
output  of  a  worker.  If  such  a  matter  has  a  retarding 
effect  on  the  clerical  output,  what  are  the  limits  to  the 
detrimental  possibilities  of  unfriendliness  and  sometimes 
suspicion  among  workers,  or  on  the  other  hand,  of  un- 
due familiarity  and  lack  of  respect  for  superiors. 

The  organization  of  social  and  athletic  life  is  a  valued 
step  in  the  direction  of  neighborly  spirit  and  mutual  re- 
liance among  workers.  Some  years  ago  the  credit  man- 


60  OFFICE  EMPLOYEES 

ager  in  a  big  office  organization  played  on  the  firm's 
baseball  team.  The  manager,  captain  and  pitcher  com- 
bined, was  a  "cub"  salesman.  It  was  a  tight  game; 
and  when  the  credit  man,  "covering"  third  base  played 
"in"  to  jump  on  an  expected  bunt,  the  batter  whaled 
the  ball  past  him. 

While  the  credit  man  was  congratulating  himself  that 
he  had  not  been  disfigured  by  the  ball,  he  was  startled 
to  hear  himself  reprimanded  by  the  youngster  whose 
orders  had  been  hanging  on  his  credit  decisions.  The 
credit  manager  laughed.  "Say  that  to  me  on  Monday 
morning  in  the  office,  will  you?"  he  banteringly  re- 
torted. The  salesman  laughed  with  him  and  felt  that 
the  supposed  enemy  of  every  salesman  was,  after  all,  a 
good  fellow.  J 

It  takes  gatherings  of  this  sort:  club  and  committee 
work,  office  picnics  and  entertainments  to  mold  your 
bookkeepers  and  clerks  into  a  working  force.  More  than 
coal  and  an  engine  are  required  to  make  speed. 


TO  build  a  successful  business  requires 
the  same  factors  as  the  building  of 
any  great  organization:  first,   proper 
selection  of  material;  second,  proper 
molding  or  training  of  this  material; 
third,  the  generation  of  power  which  is 
to  run  the  organization,  and  fourth,  the 
transmission   of  this  power  into  and 
through  the  complete  organization. 
— John  V.  Farwell 


m  — ••• 

Part  III 


FIFTY  WAYS  TO   CUT 
EXPENSES 


Economy  as  a  Policy 

HPHREE  steps  will  insure  you  lower  expenses 
and  larger  results  in  the  office: 

Let  the  management  continually  devise 
better  and  cheaper  ways  of  doing  work. 

Let  it  continually  hire  loyalty  in  its  force. 

Then  let  it  continually  teach  this  force 
these  methods. 

In  whatever  offices  make  these  the  ruling 
policies  and  first  duties  of  their  executives, 
lost  motions  gradually  become  less  than  re- 
spectable and  the  short  cut  comes  to  be  the 
habitual  way  to  work. 

But  economy  and  efficiency  were  never 
made  in  a  month.  They  cannot  be  set  up 
and  left  to  function  like  electric  time-clocks. 
Behind  these  three  policies  must  come  follow- 
up,  thought  and  persisting  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  management. 


•II 


•  IB 


MSJLL,UN<j  IMH,  MAJNAUlLMiWN  1   ILJfcA 

TO  THE  WORKERS 

Per  cent 
Increase 
10* 
95 
• 
«5 
W 
75 
7* 
45 
60 
55 
• 
45 
40 
35 
30 

a 

m 

15 
10 
S 

Week  Ending 
1912                                                                      1913 
Dec.          Jan.              Feb.              Mar.                Apr.               M 
14  21  28  4   11  18  25  1    8  15  22   1    8   15  22  29  5   12  19  26  3   10  1 

ay              June        July 
7  24  31   7  14  21  28   5  12 

Average  Production 
since  installing  Bonus 

/ 

'  f 

\ 

f 

\ 

/ 

t\, 

/ 

/ 

\. 

/ 

I/ 

\ 

? 

I 

\ 

/ 

/ 

\ 

/ 

\ 

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| 

/ 

h 
£ 

/ 

- 

/ 

/ 

f 

J 

Dr 

ops 

in 

Percentage  are  due  to  Ext 

ns 

on 

of 

/ 

System  to 

New  Groups 

/ 

/ 

\v< 

raj 

e 

>.-c 

Auction 

rior 

o  Inst 

Hi 

e 

Ek.i 

us 

W»ge 
Saving 
per  Year 
10.000 
9,500 
9,000 
8,500 
8.000 
7,500 
7.000 

tarn 

6,000 

MH 

5.000 
4.500 
4.000 
3,500 
-3,000 
2,500 
WO* 
1.500 
1,000 
600 

Net  Saving  not  including 
Overhead  Saving 

?s 

— 

V 

/ 

\, 

^ 

2 

S 

/ 

/ 

\ 

/ 

\ 

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s 

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z 

} 

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1 

— 

/ 

A 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

Department  managers  in  one  office  receive  records  of  costs  in  this  graphic 
form.    The  gradually  rising  line  indicates  an  increase  in  output  over  the 
average  prior  to  installing  a  bonus  payment  system.    The  curve  of  net 

III 


IBB 


CHAPTER  IX 

Saving  Two-thirds   the  Cost 
of  Correspondence 

FOUR  YEARS  ago  forty-one  phonograph  operators 
who  were  employed  in  one  of  the  departments  of 
the  Curtis  Publishing  Company  produced  48,000  square 
inches  of  typewritten  matter  in  one  week.  This  output 
was  regarded  as  a  fair  average.  The  weekly  wages  of 
the  girls  averaged  $9.00.  This  meant  that  the  company 
paid  $369  for  the  labor  required  to  turn  our  48,000 
square  inches  of  typewritten  work,  or  at  the  rate  of 
$7.69  per  thousand  square  inches. 

Then  the  management  made  a  scientific  study  of  the 
subject,  established  a  "standard  day's  work",  and  paid 
all  the  typists  on  a  basis  proportionate  to  their  capa- 
bilities. 

Later  the  same  department  produced  in  one  week  115,- 
000  square  inches  of  work  with  only  twenty-seven  work- 
ers— slightly  over  one-half  of  the  force  of  the  year  be- 
fore the  new  schedule  was  put  into  effect.  The  average 
income  of  each  worker  rose  from  $9.00  to  $11.00  a  week 
in  salary  and  bonus,  an  increase  of  22  per  cent.  And 
the  weekly  cost  to  the  company  for  labor  in  the  depart- 


64  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

ment  fell  from  $369  to  $297,  which  meant  that  the  cost 
of  typewritten  matter  fell  from  $7.69  to  $2.58  per  thou- 
sand square  inches.  In  other  words,  the  efficiency  of  the 
department,  based  on  these  two  tests,  was  increased 
200  per  cent. 

How  was  this  accomplished?  First  of  all,  the  poorer 
workers  were  weeded  out.  A  card  system  showing  the 
individual  production  determined  the  ability  of  the 
stenographers.  An  employment  instruction  department 
was  established,  the  purpose  of  which  is: 

(a)  to  select  only  those  applicants  who  give  evidence 
of  becoming  proficient  in  the  work  for  which  they  are 
to  be  engaged ; 

(b)  to  train  these  chosen  applicants  for  a  period  rang- 
ing from  a  day  to  two  weeks  in  the  details  of  the  depart- 
ment to  which  they  are  to  be  assigned ; 

(c)  to  hold  classes  for  old  employees,  to  review  work 
and  to  explain  modifications ; 

(d)  To  determine  what  constitutes  a  "day's  work" 
and  to  establish  that  day's  work  as  a  standard; 

(e)  to  establish  a  bonus  system  that  will  remunerate 
each  worker  according  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of 
her  work. 

Suppose  an  applicant's  record  in  the  files  indicates 
that  she  would  meet  the  requirements  of  one  of  the  de- 
partments as  expressed  in  the  manager's  requisition.  She 
is  immediately  employed  and  put  in  the  instruction  di- 
vision of  the  training  school  at  full  pay.  If  she  passes 
the  final  tests  after  this  schooling  she  is  engaged. 

The  company  measured  the  average  amount  of  work 
turned  out,  and  after  cutting  out  waste  motions,  set  up 
the  standard  day's  work.  This  standard  varies  with  the 


WRITING  LETTERS 


65 


salary  of  the  stenographer.  The  problem  of  keeping 
records  of  a  worker's  output  was  not  an  easy  one  at 
first.  Distinctions  had  be  made  among  the  different 
classes  of  office  work.  Allowances  had  to  be  made  for 
luncheon  hours,  fire  drills,  special  work  andj  other  inter- 
ruptions. Penalties  were  inflicted  for  inaccurate  work. 
To  ' '  key  up ' '  the  workers  to  further  effort,  a  weekly  re- 
port of  the  record  of  each  girl  is  posted  on  the  bulletin 
board  of  the  department. 

To  illustrate  how  standards  are  defined,  production 


Name       r> 

Nn 

Div.  and  Section 

73-7- 

Date 

Operation 
Number 

Time  Record 

Standard 

Production 

Time  Loss  and  Special  Work 

From 

To 

Total 

Per  Hour 

For  Time 

/y.2. 

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Name   ^ 

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Day 

Time  on 
Standard 
Operations 

Standard 
Units  for 
the  Time 

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Units  for 
the  Time 

Time 
Work 

Time 
Loss 

Total 
Time 
(Clock) 

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for  Time 
ndards..^ 
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Bonus  $ 
il  Bonus  $ 

Total 

Remarks: 

Efficient 

—  .-..-!    ......     -,- 

FORMS  VII  and  VIII:  Individual  records  of  an  addressing  clerk's  work  are  kept 
compactly  on  the  back  card  (Form  VII).  Operators  receive  a  bonus  for  passing  an 
amount  fixed  as  a  standaid  day's  work.  Individual  daily  records  are  summarized  by 
the  week  on  another  card  (Form  VIII).  Different  forms  are  used  for  the  different 
classes  of  work.  Even  with  such  a  system  it  was  found  that  letters  cost  ten  to  twelve 
cents  each,  including  rent,  salaries,  stamps,  stationery  and  equipment  in  the  calculation. 
It  is  said  to  be  almost  impossible  to  reduce  the  cost  of  letters  in  any  case  beneath  six  cents 

records  kept  and  the  bonus  figured,  take  the  case  of  a 
clerk  in  the  addressing  section.  A  clerk  working  on 
listed  operations  fills  in  a  card  (Forms  VII  and  VIII) 


66  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

where  the  operations  are  designated  by  number,  leaving 
columns  headed  "standard"  and  "production"  vacant. 
She  may  work  on  one  or  more  operations  during  the  day, 
yet  one  card,  approved  by  the  superior,  is  sufficient. 
These  daily  cards  are  forwarded  to  the  employment  and 
instruction  department  where  they  are  completed  and 
checked,  and  where,  at  the  end  of  the  week,  the  work  is 
summarized  for  each  clerk  and  the  bonus  figured. 

No  set  standards  to  cover  dictation  are  made.  But 
accurate  record  is  kept  on  a  form  tabulating  the  amount 
of  work  and  the  time  spent  for  each  operator. 

After  the  system  had  been  in  successful  operation  for 
over  three  years,  the  net  saving  per  year  was  found  to 
be  $8,164.  During  that  period,  three-fourths  of  all  the 
clerical  workers  had  been  placed  on  the  bonus  system. 

Maximum  efficiency  of  stenographers  and  consequent 
low  cost  of  letters,  is  obtained  in  another  office  by  put- 
ting the  girls  on  a  piece-work  basis.  Operators  are  aided 
in  attaining  a  higher  standard  of  ability  by  systematiz- 
ing their  work  and  by  relieving  them  of  inconsequential 
but  time-consuming  details.  Since  the  new  system  has 
been  in  use,  the  total  weekly  payroll  has  been  decreased 
sixteen  per  cent,  but  the  average  salary  has  been  in- 
creased one  dollar  per  week.  The  number  of  operators 
has  been  materially  reduced,  but  the  work  done  in  the 
department  has  been  increased  approximately  fifty  per 
cent. 

These  results  are  obtained  by  maintaining  a  general 
department,  directed  by  a  head  stenographer  and  two 
assistants,  which  includes  all  machine  operators  except  a 
few  secretaries.  In  the  office  in  which  this  plan  was 
developed,  seventy-five  stenographers  and  phonograph 
operators  were  required  to  do  the  work.  In  smaller 


WHITING  LETTERS 


67 


offices  the  duties  of  management  have  been  confined  to 
the  head  of  the  department.  As  the  system  is  used, 
the  head  stenographer  keeps  the  time  of  her  operators 
and  supplies  them  to  dictators.  The  first  assistant  has 
charge  of  the  phonograph  division  and  the  second  assist- 


Daily  Schedule 

Dictator 

Steno. 

Called 
at 

Wanted 
at 

Supplied 
at 

Returned 
at 

No. 
Letters 

Remarks 

^.<^xA- 

£xAcA 

(0.20 

II. 

//. 

II  35 

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.  ',  I  :  i  J  :- 

•  1      •  nil;  •  -r    : 

FORMS  IX  and  X:  The  head  of  the  stenographic  department  maintains  a  "Daily 
Schedule"  (Form  IX)  upon  which  she  records  the  time  spent  by  operators  taking  dic- 
tation. If  the  number  of  letters  taken  is  disproportionately  few  compared  with  the 
time  spent,  a  note  of  this  fact  is  made  in  the  "remarks"  column.  When  this  column 
shows  a  dictator  to  be  an  habitual  offender,  the  fact  is  referred  to  his  department  head 
for  adjustment.  Records  of  the  transcription  of  phonograph  cylinders  are  kept  on  the 
small  card  (Form  X) 

ant  measures  the  work  dope  and  reads  proof  on  it  so 
that  the  letters  need  not  be  returned  for  correction  to 
the  man  who  dictated  them.  This  practice  has  effected 
an  important  economy  among  the  high  salaried  em- 
ployees. 

When  a  dictator  wants  a  stenographer  he  calls  the 
department  by  telephone,  and — unless  he  has  a  prefer- 
ence— the  girl  first  on  the  list  is  sent  to  his  desk.  Her 
work  is  recorded  by  the  head  of  the  department  on  the 
daily  schedule  sheet  (Forms  IX  and  X). 

When  the  operator  returns  to  her  desk,  after  taking 


68  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

dictation,  she  transcribes  her  notes  and  turns  the  fin- 
ished sheets  over  to  the  assistant  head,  who  measures 
the  number  of  lines  written  and  enters  the  amount  to 
her  credit  in  the  daily  record.  A  scale  corresponding 
to  the  spacing  of  the  typewriter  makes  the  work  of 
measuring  the  lines  easy.  An  estimate  of  the  work  done 
merely  requires  accurate  reading  of  the  scale. 

Dictating  machines  are  also  used  by  this  company. 
The  typists  are  in  a  separate  division.  A  boy  collects 
cylinders  for  transcription  at  thirty-minute  intervals 
and  stores  them  on  a  shelf.  The  operators  have  only  to 
step  to  the  shelf  to  keep  themselves  supplied  with  work. 

As  the  records  are  received,  the  chief  of  the  phono- 
graph section  makes  a  note  of  the  name  of  the  dictator, 
the  number  of  cylinders  filled,  and  the  time  when  they 
are  received,  on  a  card  which  she  keeps  in  a  permanent 
file.  When  an  operator  takes  a  cylinder,  the  time  is 
noted  on  the  slip,  which  is  transferred  to  the  "pending" 
file.  When  a  typist  finishes  a  record,  she  reports  the 
fact  to  her  chief,  who  again  notes  the  time  and  returns 
the  card  to  the  regular  file. 

Determining   the   Basis   on   Which   to  Figure   the 
Operator's  Credit 

In  the  phonograph  department,  figuring  an  opera- 
tor '&  average  is  a  simple  matter.  The  total  number 
of  lines  written  during  the  month  are  divided  by  the 
number  of  working  days.  In  the  case  of  stenographers, 
the  problem  of  giving  proper  credit  for  the  time  spent 
in  taking  dictation  is  a  difficult  one,  and  can  only  be 
solved  after  a  study  of  actual  conditions. 

One  plan  fixes  the  rate  of  the  individual  in  lines 
per  hour;  one  other  fixes  the  rate  of  the  entire  depart- 


WRITING  LETTERS  69 

merit.  Both  plans  permit  the  proper  crediting  of  time 
lost  in  taking  dictation.  In  getting  the  individual's 
average,  the  hours  spent  in  taking  dictation  are  deducted 
from  the  total  hours  worked  during  the  month.  This 
figure  when  divided  into  the  number  of  lines  actually 
written  during  the  month,  gives  the  operator's  rates 
in  lines  typed  per  hour.  Rate  multiplied  by  hours  of 
dictation  is  taken  as  the  amount  of  work  which  would 
have  been  done  by  the  stenographer  during  the  time 
she  took  notes.  This  sum  added  to  the  lines  actually 
written  is  her  monthly  average.  Dividing  it  by  the 
number  of  working  days  gives  a  daily  average  upon 
which  is  based  the  salary  she  is  paid. 

The  difficulty  with  many  systems  of  this  sort  has  been 
that  time  taken  for  clerical  work  or  for  handling  car- 
bons, sharpening  pencils  and  other  minor  duties  ma- 
terially interfered  with  the  output.  In  one  office,  how- 
ever, the  stenographers  do  no  clerical  work.  An  office 
boy  collects  dull  pencils  twice  a  day  from  the  desk 
baskets  where  they  are  tossed  when  blunt,  supplies 
sharp  ones  and  attends  to  the  other  time-consuming 
details.  The  desks  are  all  of  one  size  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  stationery  is  standardized  so  that  the  work  of 
the  stenographer  in  reaching  for  various  forms  is  prac- 
tically automatic. 

The  correspondence  of  many  offices  does  not  bulk 
large  enough  to  warrant  the  installation  of  a  system 
having  any  degree  of  complexity.  But  the  same  prin- 
ciples of  clearing  the  line  for  straight-ahead  work,  of 
knowing  what  each  worker  does  and  paying  her  accord- 
ingly, apply  throughout.  The  use  of  stiff  back  loose- 
leaf  note  books  instead  of  the  ordinary  "spineless" 
kind,  to  make  dictation  and  transcription  easier;  the 


70  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

reduction  of  stationery  forms  to  save  time  and  con- 
fusion; and  a  definite  " place  for  everything"  are  all 
possible  improvements  for  even  the  smallest  offices. 

The  manager  of  a  small  Rochester  office  concentrated 
one  part  of  his  attack  on  erasures.  To  begin  with,  he 
noticed  that  his  two  stenographers  were  spending  an 
appreciable  portion  of  their  time  rummaging  about 
their  desks,  through  drawers,  looking  under  papers  and 
making  other  like  maneuvers.  Investigation  showed 
that  all  the  fuss  was  over  the  innocent  rubber  eraser. 

He  ordered  the  girls  to  throw  the  erasers  away,  and 
assured  them  that  he  would  rather  have  an  entire  letter 
rewritten  than  have  a  single  erasure  made.  At  first,  he 
was  almost  tempted  to  revert  to  the  old  plan.  Many 
letters  had  to  be  rewritten.  But  gradually  the  letters 
cleared  up.  As  a  final  result  more  letters  are  turned 
out,  and  their  appearance  has  improved  at  least  twenty 
per  cent.  Greater  output  with  the  same  number  of 
workers  means  reduced  cost.  Another  advantage  which 
the  manager  sees  is  the  increased  "selling"  effective- 
ness of  neat  letters. 


O  ATISFACTION  to  customers  is  the 
*^  only  basis  for  a  permanent  business. 
To  eliminate  complaints — to  cut  out 
the  kicks — is  therefore  a  vital  part  of 
business  management. 

—Clarence  M.  Woolley 


CHAPTER  X 

Short  Cuts  in  Handling  and 
Filing  Mail 

IN  the  offices  of  a  certain  public  service  institution 
where  the  most  up-to-date  systems  are  used,  the  mail 
is  collected  by  a  boy  at  hourly  intervals.  A  junior  clerk 
in  each  department  puts  a  band  around  the  letters, 
together  with  a  form  on  which  he  writes  the  name  of 
his  department,  the  date,  the  number  of  pieces  of  mail, 
and  the  stamps  required.  By  the  use  of  these  slips, 
(Forms  XI  and  XII),  the  stamp  account  can  be  bal- 
anced at  the  end  of  each  day,  and  departments  properly 
charged  for  them. 

The  boy,  after  collecting  from  every  department, 
turns  over  his  load  to  the  mailing  section,  where  an 
automatic  sealing  machine  seals  the  flaps  in  a  small 
fraction  of  the  time  hand  work  would  require.  Because 
of  remittances  in  postage  from  customers,  stamping  is 
done  by  hand  in  order  to  utilize  these  single  stamps. 

Stamp  saving  helps  to  reduce  perhaps  the  highest 
cash  item  of  letter  cost  (Figure  VI).  One  firm  using 
government  stamped  envelopes,  discovered  that  soiled 
and  misdirected  envelopes  were  being  thrown  away  by 

71 


72 


WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 


stenographers.  As  this  made  a  big  leak  in  the  postage 
during  the  year,  the  general  manager  decided  to  check 
out  every  package  of  stamped  envelopes  to  the  indi- 
vidual stenographer.  In  this  way  the  carelessness  was 
controlled. 

It  was  also  found  that  some  letters  sent  to  foreign 
lands  were  insufficiently  stamped,  and  that  the  resulting 
tax  on  the  addressee  often  made  an  enemy  for  the 
house.  The  stenographers  now  write  the  word  foreign 
where  the  stamp  is  to  be  placed.  This  automatically 
comes  to  the  mail  clerk's  attention  when  he  is  stamp- 
ing letters,  and  he  makes  sure  of  his  postage.  The 
stamp  conceals  the  word.  A  rate  card,  placed  in  a 
prominent  place  on  the  wall,  is  insurance  against  mis- 


Discount 
Check$ 

Check  $  

Check  not  signed 


Short,  net  or  gross 
Over,  net  or  gross 


/ 


FLETCHER  M 


Date. 


S//X//4- 


No.  Pieces 


// 


Amount  t 


Department. 


Signed. 


-<2O. 


THE  DOVER  ROLLER  SKATE  CO. 


FORMS  XI  and  XII:    The  upper  form  (Form  XI)  is  attached  by  the  mail  clerk  to  all 

remittances  which  are  incorrect.    The  under  form  (Foim  XII) — is  attached  to  outgoing 

mail  by  the  respective  departments.       It  serves  as  a  check  on  the  money  value  of  the 

stamps  called  for  by  the  mailing  department 

takes  in  foreign  postage  computation.  This  avoids 
delays  and  forestalls  strained  relations  with  distant  cus- 
tomers. 

Where  several  enclosures  such  as  pamphlets,  cards 


HANDLING  AND  FILING  MAIL 


73 


and  the  like,  are  made  in  one  letter,  the  cost  runs  high 
unless  a  system  is  installed  that  cuts  down  the  moves 
made  by  clerks  in  assembling  these  various  enclosures. 


Stamps 

Ic  and  2c  Postage 
Reducing  Weight 

Envelope  and  Letter  Paper 

Stationery 

Enclosures 
Printing 

Carbon  Copies 

Direct 

Correspondents 

Salary 

Manifolding 

File  Clerks 
Mail  Boys 

Desk  and  Typewriter 

Every  Letter 
Bears  Its 

Equipment  and 
Supplies 

Office  and  Mailing  Appliances 
Ribbons 

bnare  ot 
These 
Expenses 

Stenographer's  Supplies 
Loss  of  Stamps 

Returned  Mail 

Waste 

Spoiled  Stationery 

Poor  Lists 

Office  Manager 

Overhead 
Salaries 

Accounting,  Storekeeping  and 

Correspondence  Supervisors 

Office 
Expense 

Insurance 

FIGURE  VI:    Stamp  do  not  fluctuate  in  price  and  mail  rates  do  not  change  often, 

but  many  direct  and  indirect  items  are  here  listed  through  which  you  can  increase  or 

cut  the  cost  of  correspondence 


74  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

One  firm  dealing  in  electrical  goods  has  solved  this 
problem  by  the  use  of  a  revolving  table.  On  this  in  the 
correct  order,  enclosures  are  placed  in  heaps.  Workers 
are  seated  about  the  table,  and  as  the  table  revolves, 
they  take  a  piece  from  each  heap.  By  the  time  the  table 
has  swung  around  once,  all  of  them  have  the  material 
for  the  respective  letters  they  are  making  up.  The  per- 
formance is  swift  because  of  its  continuity  and  its  tend- 
ency to  spur  on  the  workers  by  automatically  setting  an 
efficient  pace. 

How  the  Mail  Is  Handled  from  the  Time  the  En- 
velope Is  Slit  until  Each  Letter  Is  Answered 

When  the  mail  comes  in  to  the  firm  first  mentioned, 
a  clerk  passes  each  envelope  through  a  machine  which 
takes  a  thin  slice  off  one  side.  Other  firms  use  an 
emery  process  in  which  the  -edges  of  the  envelopes  are 
ground  away. 

The  clerks  of  that  department  then  divide  the  en- 
velopes into  two  groups,  personal  matter  and  business 
correspondence.  Then  it  is  subdivided — business  cor- 
respondence first — according  to  department  or  man  and 
put  into  a  pigeon-hole  rack  which  is  subdivided  accord- 
ing to  the  classification  made  by  the  mail  clerks.  A  boy 
then  comes  around  with  a  push  cart  having  the  same 
divisions  as  the  mail  rack.  The  letters  are  transferred 
and  delivered  by  trips  throughout  the  office,  following 
regular  schedule  and  route. 

In  many  offices  inefficient  methods  for  designating 
the  proper  notations  on  incoming  letters  regarding  their 
contents  are  the  cause  of  delay  in  giving  prompt  atten- 
tion. As  there  are  always  several  important  notations 
to  be  made  on  each  letter,  especially  where  it  passes 


HANDLING  AND  FILING  MAIL  75 

over  different  desks,  some  accurate  system  must  be  used 
to  facilitate  the  proper  attention.  One  remedy  for  this 
is  to  have  the  clerk,  after  noting  the  contents,  stamp 
the  envelopes  with  a  small  rubber  stamp  and  then  enter 
the  proper  data  regarding  the  date  of  receipt,  amount 
of  money  enclosed  and  the  department  to  which  it  is 
to  be  referred. 

It  is  then  turned  over  to  the  department  for  answer- 
ing.   Here  the  remaining  spaces  on  the  stamp  are  filled 


£-J     #         /?/?. 

<^**-°e^&*c**>-&££^- DEPT. 


OEPT. 


ft 

2  NAME  _  OEPT. 

K 

o 

DEPT. 


NAME 


FORM  XIII:  An  inter-department  envelope  which  saves  considerable  money  each 
year.  Each  envelope  may  be  used  seven  times  by  drawing  a  line  through  the  last 
address,  writing  in  the  new  and  sending  it  unsealed  loathe  department  desired.  Inter- 
department  communications  are  received  and  delivered  by  the  mail  boy  on  his  rounds 

in,  giving  the  date  of  answer,  correspondent,  number 
of  order  entry  and  its  position  in  the  card  index  file. 

In  this  way,  assurance  is  given  that  the  necessary 
notations  will  not  be  overlooked.  At  the  same  time  an 
accurate  record  of  each  letter  is  made,  so  that  any  mis- 
take may  easily  be  traced. 

The  letters  noted  and  answered,  are  ready  to  be 
filed.  The  system  may  be  alphabetical  by  person  or 


76  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

firm  name,  geographical  by  states  or  cities  or  alpha- 
betical by  cities  under  certain  district  headings,  or 
numerical.  The  numerical  plan  is  similar  to  the  cata- 
loging of  books  in  a  library  and  permits  the  group- 
ing of  kindred  correspondence.  If  extensive,  however, 
it  requires  a  complete  cross-index.  Whatever  filing 
system  is  chosen  should  be  so  organized  as  to  reduce 
to  a  minimum  the  danger  of  misfiling,  consume  corn- 


Receipt  for  Files 
The  undersigned  holds  the  following  correspondence  from  the  files. 


CUSTOMER 
ADDRESS 


Original  Order 
Shipping  Ticket 
Bill  of  Lading 
Our  Letter  to  them 
Their  Letter  to  us 
Branch  Office 
Printed  Matter 
Repair  Ticket 
Entire  Folder 
Taken  from  files  at 


SIGNED 


FORM  XIV:     This  is  a  form  of  record  put  in  the  letter's  place  by  the  file  clerk,  while 

the  conespondence  is  out.      It  fixes  the  responsibility  and  controls  temporary  or  per- 

manent  loss  of  letters 

paratively  little  floor  space,  reduce  handling  motion, 
separate  in  units  all  important  correspondence,  be  eco- 
nomical to  install  and  reduce  time  ordinarily  consumed 
in  referring  to  filed  matter. 

Inability  promptly  to  locate  letters  taken  from  the 
correspondence  files  and  held  in  different  departments 
of  a  business,  results  in  great  inconvenience  and  embar- 


HANDLING  AND  PILING  MAIL  77 

rassment,  and  sometimes  in  an  absolute  loss.  A  concern 
mailing  three  hundred  letters  a  day  requires  that  the 
person  or  department  withdrawing  any  correspondence 
from  the  files  shall  do  this  only  on  a  correspondence 
requisition  (Form  XIV),  identifying  the  person  or  the 
department  withdrawing  the  letters.  Then  when  cor- 
respondence is  sent  to  another  person  or  another  depart- 
ment without  being;  returned  to  the  correspondence 
files,  it  is  accompanied  by  a  memorandum. 

Thus  it  was  easy  to  find  the  letter  desired,  by  refer- 
ring to  the  carbon  of  the  house  note.  When  the  letters 
finally  returned  to  the  files,  the  original  requisition  and 
house  notes  are  removed  and  destroyed. 

" House  cleaning"  applies  to  files  perhaps  better  than 
to  any  other  office  department.  A  large"  mercantile 
house  in  the  east,  having  an  exceptionally  heavy  cor- 
respondence, was  compelled  at  frequent  intervals  to 
remove  the  less  important  matter  from  its  correspond- 
ence files  in  order  to  avoid  overcrowding  them.  In 
doing  this,  a  great  deal  of  work  was  required  at  each 
of  these  dates  in  selecting  the  important  letters  which 
it  was  necessary  to  retain  in  them.  As  the  work  was 
done  hurriedly,  it  very  frequently  occurred  that  some 
important  letters  were  taken  from  the  files  and 
destroyed. 

To  get  around  this  difficulty,  the  firm  rearranged  the 
files  by  providing  each  name  with  two  filing  folders. 
One  of  these  was  a  manila  folder  and  the  other  one  was 
green.  In  the  first  of  these  was  placed  the  more  im- 
portant correspondence  with  each  name,  which  it  was 
desired  to  retain  permanently  in  the  files.  In  the  green 
folder  was  filed  the  less  important  correspondence, 
which  it  was  not  desired  to  retain  in  the  file  for  any 


78  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

length  of  time.  It  was  then  a  comparatively  easy 
matter  to  clear  the  files  of  this  unimportant  correspond- 
ence. From  time  to  time  the  green  folders  with  their 
contents  were  removed  bodily  from  the  files  and  either 
destroyed  or  placed  in  the  transfer  files.  Another  firm 
has  its  correspondents  mark  with  a  rubber  stamp,  the 
dates  when  letters  may  be  "killed".  The  minimum  is 
six  months.  These  methods  keep  the  files  up  to  date, 
roomy  and  neat. 


\7' OUR  office  is  the  connecting  mech- 
•*•  anism  between  the  factory  and  the 
trade.  A  business  man  who  keeps  up 
no  office  recently  boasted  that  he  leaves 
no  mounting  overhead  expense  behind 
when  he  travels;  neither  does  he  leave 
any  bond,  however,  between  himself 
and  his  customers.  His  business  is  not 
so  much  a  going  concern  as  a  travel- 
ing man. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Low  Cost  and  Dispatch  in 
Handling  Orders 

WHAT  I  can't  understand, "  says  a  department 
head  of  a  packing  house,  "is  that  firms  will 
work  up  all  sorts  of  elaborate  sales  systems,  will  build 
impressive  warehouses  and  sumptuous  offices — all  to 
make  a  good  impression — and  then  after  the  order  is 
secured  will  seem  not  to  realize  that  their  customer  is 
giving  them  a  test  other  than  that  pertaining  to  the 
actual  goods.  He's  going  to  find  out  how  dependable 
they  are  when  it  comes  to  delivery. 

"A  good  order  system  should  permit  the  handling 
of  orders  in  a  very  short  time.  Nor  is  that  all,  by  a 
good  deal.  Our  system  has  been  planned  so  that  it  is 
handled  by  the  fewest  clerks — comparatively  speaking 
— with  the  fewest  forms.  These  requisites  epitomized, 
mean  economy  and  profit,  both  direct  and  indirect." 

The  order  system  of  one  wholesale  house  is  unusually 
effective  (Forms  XV  to  XVIII).  It  has  proved  its  elas- 
ticity by  requiring  little  change  in  the  years  of  the  firm's 
prosperous  growth.  Carbon  copies  have  made  this  system 
flexible  and  kept  it  adapted  to  the  office  as  it  grew  from 

79 


80  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

less  than  a  dozen  desks  to  more  than  a  hundred.  As 
more  clerks  became  necessary  and  the  goods  were 
spread  over  more  ground,  the  situation  has  been  handled 
by  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  number  of  carbon 
copies. 

The  salesman,  having  taken  the  order,  turns  it  in  to 
the  credit  man.  This  is  the  first  and  "refining"  process. 
Those  orders  that  sift  through  this  department  are  sent 
on  their  way  through  the  routine. 

The  accepted  order  goes  first  to  the  stock  clerk,  who 
looks  over  the  items  to  see  if  the  salesman  has  sold  any- 
thing that  they  are  "out  of*.  If  so,  he  substitutes 
where  he  feels  free  to  do  so,  or  if  goods  will  be  in 
stock  within  a  day  or  so,  he  makes  out  a  "  short " — a 
slip  of  paper  on  which  the  missing  items  and  the  order 
number  are  recorded.  These  are  put  on  a  spindle  and 
supplementary  orders  made  out  for  them  as  the  stock 
clerk  finds  the  house  able  to  make  shipment.  If  he  does 
neither  of  these  things,  he  crosses  off  the  article. 

The  order  then  goes  to  the  register  clerk,  who  enters 
it  in  his  book  and  puts  a  number  on  every  order  for 
recording  and  reference  purposes.  The  floor  boy  at  the 
next  desk  marks  on  the  order,  before  each  article,  the 
floor  on  which  it  is  located.  At  this  point  the  order 
copiers  get  the  original,  and  in  one  typing  operation 
make  the  bill,  order,  receipt,  ledger  charge  and  floor 
tickets. 

Out  of  this  group,  the  shipping  clerk  next  detaches 
the  first  floor  ticket  for  his  own  use.  He  sends  the 
other  floor  tickets  to  their  respective  departments.  These 
departments  each  send  whatever  of  the  specified  goods 
are  on  their  floor,  to  the  shipping  clerk,  who  checks 
them  off  on  their  respective  order  blanks.  When  that. 


PUTTING  ORDERS  THROUGH 


81 


operation  is  completed,  all  the  order  copies  are  sent  to 
the  extender,  who  extends  them  all  in  one  operation  by 
the  use  of  carbon  sheets. 

The  bill  is  sent  to  the  customer.     The  ledger  charge 


FORMS  XV,  XVI,  XVII  and  XVIII:  Order  forms  of  a  system  used  by  a  wholesale 
grocery.  These  forms  required  no  important  change  in  the  fifty  years'  growth  of  the 
concern,  demonstrating  conclusively  the  flexibility  of  the  system.  At  the  bottom  of  the 
rear  form,  (Form  XV),  is  a  chain  of  segregated  spaces  for  the  various  floors.  Pine- 
apple comes  under  fancy  groceries — floor  eight— and  is  so  billed 

goes  to  the  bookkeeping  department.  The  order  is 
''checked  against"  the  register  to  indicate  that  it  has 
been  shipped  out.  Once  a  week  a  clerk  goes  over  this 
register  to  see  that  all  orders  have  been  checked,  sig- 
nifying that  they  have  been  shipped  or  delivered.  The 
order  copy  then  goes  to  the  profit  department,  where 


82  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

the  gain  is  figured.  The  original  order  written  out  by 
the  salesman  is  filed  alphabetically,  and  the  copy  of  it 
numerically.  Even  though  in  one  case  the  name  is 
misspelled  or  in  the  other,  the  number  is  incorrect,  the 
file  clerk  can  locate  the  order  under  this  arrangement. 

Gaining  time — cutting  down  the  minutes  on  order 
handling — is  and  was  the  aim  of  all  firms  that  have  sys- 
tematized their  routine.  "Straight  line"  routing  with 
no  duplicated  motions,  is  the  plan  or  desire  of  up-to- 
date  concerns.  They  realize  that  a  straight  line  method 
means  quick  serice  and  is  the  shortest  line  between  the 
company  and  the  buyer's  good  will.  Exceptions  are 
held  down  to  the  minimum. 

The  fact  that  smooth,  uninterrupted  routing  is  val- 
uable is  shown  by  the  fact  that,  regardless  of  delivery 
costs,  one  firm  prefers  to  deliver  goods  rather  than  that 
their  customers  should  bring  their  own  teams  and  call 
for  their  goods  at  perhaps  inopportune  moments.  Such 
practice  upsets  the  routine  and  causes  confusion. 

In  a  large  manufacturing  stationery  company's  office 
are  forty  clerks  whose  duty  it  is  to  check  up  the  orders 
as  sent  by  the  salesmen,  comparing  the  catalog  numbers, 
prices,  discounts,  special  terms,  quantity  allowances, 
promises,  dates,  and  so  on,  with  the  customer's  "price 
ticket"  or  record  sheet.  The  many  styles  of  tablets, 
grades  and  weights  of  paper,  and  odd  sizes,  in  addition 
to  the  graduated  prices  for  different  classes  of  dealers, 
necessitates  a  very  large  catalog  with  many  thousands 
of  numbers.  From  time  to  time  specials  or  "bulletins" 
are  sent  to  salesmen  showing  numbers  of  which  the 
stock  had  just  been  exhausted. 

Errors  were  very  liable  to  occur.  Often  the  salesman 
forgot  about  the  "special",  and  sent  in  an  order  for 


PUTTING  ORDERS  THROUGH  83 

items  which  were  out  of  stock;  or  he  showed  a  wrong 
number  on  his  order,  or  gave  the  wrong  price.  Several 
other  little  errors  were  found  to  creep  in  when  an 
order  carried  a  long  list  of  items. 

It  required  several  hours  each  day  for  a  high  sal- 
aried order  clerk  to  dictate  letters  to  the  salesmen  on 
these  questions,  and  an  expert  stenographer  was  kept 
busy. 

Upon  finding  an  apparent  error  when  checking  up  the 
orders,  the  clerks  would  make  a  brief  memorandum  of 
the  question,  pin  it  to  the  order  and  pass  it  on  to  the 
head  order  clerk.  Or,  especially  during  the  rush  sea- 
son, they  would  pass  on  slight  errors  themselves. 

The  correspondence  clerk  whose  duty  it  was  to  read 
the  letters  when  they  came  to  the  secretary's  office  no- 
ticed a  similarity  in  the  letters  being  sent  to  the  sales- 
men, and  designed  a  form  to  eliminate  useless  letter 
dictating  and  writing. 

Hundreds  of  these  are  now  used  each  month.  A  pad 
containing  this  form  in  multiple  is  given  to  each 
of  the  clerks.  When  a  question  arises  in  regard  to  an 
order  he  simply  fills  out  the  blank  provided,  or  checks 
the  question  intended,  adding  remarks  if  necessary, 
and  sends  the  form  on  to  the  salesman  in  his  regular 
mail.  The  duplicate  is  attached  to  the  order  and  held 
until  the  return  of  the  original. 

This  saves  lost  time  for  order  clerks,  the  stenographer 
and  the  reader,  as  well  as  hurrying  up  orders.  The 
query  is  now  sent  out  as  soon  as  the  order  clerk  dis- 
covers it.  Upon  receipt  of  this  form  the  salesman  makes 
any  corrections  or  notations  and  returns  it. 


CHAPTER  XII 
How  to  Keep  Up  Mailing  Lists 

KEEPING  lists  in  such  shape  that  they  are  easy  to 
handle  and  contain  no  worthless  names  is  what 
every  manager  strives  for.  Where  the  list  numbers 
only  a  few  hundreds  or  thousands  of  names  and  does 
not  fluctuate  more  than  ten  per  cent  annually,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  keep  it  in  good  condition  by  a  page-system.  This 
consists  of  a  loose-leaf  book  especially  ruled  to  suit  the 
purpose.  By  a  special  arrangement  the  plan  has  been 
found  especially  practicable  in  saving  time  of  clerical 
help  and  in  minimizing  the  errors  that  often  arise  in 
handling  a  large  list. 

With  the  list  of  names  fairly  well  established,  the 
work  of  writing  up  the  book  is  accomplished  easily. 
One  or  more  spaces  are  left  between  each  two  names 
inserted,  allowing  room  for  the  insertion  of  other  names 
as  shown  in  Form  XIX.  Rut  there  is  of  course  a  possi- 
bility of  some  names  being  crowded  out  of  place.  To 
meet  this  contingency,  a  "line-number  space"  is  pro- 
vided between  the  lines.  These  are  merely  blank  spaces 
for  the  addition  of  index  numbers  referring  to  the  new 
names. 

On  the  reverse  side  of  the  sheet,  the  lines  are  num- 

84 


HANDLING  MAILING  LISTS 


85 


bered  as  indicated  by  the  back  card  (Form  XX).  When 
inserting  a  name  that  is  "crowded  off"  the  front  of 
the  sheet  the  clerk  writes  it  on  the  first  vacant  line  on 
the  reverse  side  of  the  sheet,  and  then  inserts  the  line 
number  in  the  proper  "line  number  space",  so  that, 
when  referring  to  this  name  again,  the  small  number 
will  be  a  guide  to  the  reverse  side  of  the  sheet.  This 
will  save  considerable  time  in  the  work.  About  one- 
third  of  the  page  at  the  bottom  may  be  used  for  over- 
flow of  names  instead  of  the  reverse  side  of  the  sheet. 


UNE 
NO. 

TO  tVN  AND  STATE  **_ 

NAME 

,  cot. 

NO.  t 

l/NO.  Z'-'" 

NO-  3 

••'•,*••; 

f^t^'^if. 

/?.£.  MtA*^ 

•:•  a:" 

a 

:  ':--;,:  •     _r 

:    ;  •;."    ; 

•^               TOWN  AND  STATE 

NAME 

COL. 

NO.  1 

COL. 

NO.  2 

COL. 

NO.  3 

-   CUTHAND.                TEX. 

McFarlfind,   Miss  J. 

CUTHBERT.         TEX.              |    Oder,   Jaa.  C. 

OACUS  .                TEX.              |    Godfrey  4  Sons,   J.   L« 

'     •                 1 

_.;    DAINGERFIELD,  TEX.                    |     Brlflfl3f     C 

Tiaa. 

|4                                           (       "                        1 

•*                                   -1  Tames.   J. 

P. 

-                                   -                 1 

DALBY  SPGS.,        TEX.                    |     SeOTCy    4 

Jones. 

DALLAS.                TEX.              |    Anderson.   Geo. 

FORMS  XIX  and  XX:  Skill  in  preparing  forms  requires  provision  for  errors  and 
omissions.  In  this  mailing  list  space  is  left  for  items  overlooked  or  forgotten.  The 
front  card  (Form  XIX)  is  the  regular  list;  the  other  is  the  reverse  on  which  extra  names 

are  entered 

The  typewritten  names  show  the  sheet  as  originally 
written.  Any  additions  are  put  in  script.  Each  page 
can  be  revised  when  necessary  without  any  interference 
whatever  with  the  adjacent  sheets.  The  method  can  be 


86 


WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 


easily  adapted  to  any  small  office  which  uses  small  pros- 
pect or  customer,  associate  or  supplier  lists. 

An  individual  card  system  which  includes  several 
suggestive  points  is  being  used  with  unqualified  success 
by  a  western  commission  house. 

Its  mailing  list  had  been  carried  on  cards  arranged 
according  to  post  offices.  Each  of  these  cards  was 
divided  vertically  to  take  care  of  three  classes  of  names 


FORM  XXI:  At  the  extreme  left  in  this  file,  red  cards  give  the  names  of  the  states; 
at  the  extreme  right  blue  cards  give  the  names  of  cities  and  towns,  filed  alphabetically 
under  states;  and  under  the  cities  and  towns  the  names  of  prospects  are  filed  alpha- 
betically, on  white  cards,  with  projecting  tabs  which  afford  quick  reference  to  the 
various  kinds  of  business 

in  the  same  towns,  the  one  on  the  right  representing 
regular  customers,  the  one  in  the  center  those  who  were 
in  correspondence  and  the  left-hand  column  those  purely 
prospective. 

To  transfer  a  customer  from  one  list  to  another  not 
only  necessitated  defacing  the  card,  but  broke  into  the 
alphabetical  arrangement  of  the  names. 


HANDLING  MAILING  LISTS 


87 


The  firm  obviated  this  difficulty  by  using  a  card  file 
in  which  the  name  of  each  customer  and  his  post  office 
address  were  recorded.  These  cards  (Form  XXI)  were 
filed  in  tin  trays  with  three  longitudinal  compartments. 
A  geographical  guide  card  was  made  to  embrace  all  three 


FORM  XXII:.     This  form  is  vafuable  for  keeping  track  of  small  lists.      The  inverted 

tabs  are  inked  in  to  show  the  prospect's  line  of  business.      Thus  concentrated  mailing 

lists  can  easily  be  selected 

of  these  compartments  by  slotting  it  over  the  partitions. 
The  individual  cards  were  then  filed  alphabetically  be- 
hind these  geographical  guide  cards. 

In  this  way,  when  any  name  was  transferred  from 
one  division  to  another  the  card  itself  was  moved, 
entirely  obviating  any  mutilation  of  the  record  and  at 
the  same  time  preserving  the  exact  alphabetical  order. 
Stencils  available  for  addressing  purposes  might  hav» 
been  used  under  the  same  three-in-one  arrangement. 


88  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

For  the  business  man  whose  office  includes  a  small 
index  or  finding  list  of  names  and  addresses  to  which 
he  occasionally  refers,  the  system  of  classification 
worked  out  by  an  Eastern  oifice  man,  will  prove  help- 
ful. This  scheme,  which  the  designer  calls  the  "four- 
in-one"  classification,  is  not  adapted  to  indexes  of  big 
lists ;  neither  is  it  intended  to  replace  any  of  the  stand- 
ard equipment  now  used  for  such  files.  Rather,  it  has 
been  designed  to  simplify  the  classification  of  small 
indexes  such  as  a  business  man  or  merchant  keeps  on  or 
in  his  individual  desk.  Its  operation  is  simple. 

Any  ordinary  filing  card  may  be  used,  and  the  ruling 
and  information  upon  the  card  arranged  to  suit  the 
needs  of  the  user.  Printed  along  the  top  margin,  how- 
ever, is  a  series  of  inverted  tabs,  as  shown  in  Form 
XXII.  The  number  of  these  tabs  may  be  fixed  to  suit 
the  needs  of  the  individual  file  in  which  they  are  to  be 
used. 

As  used  by  the  designer,  the  tabs  represent  different 
lines  of  business ;  the  first  position  tab  designates  depart- 
ment stores;  the  second  position,  druggists;  the  third, 
hardware  stores;  and  the  fourth,  grocery  stores.  In 
this  case,  a  fifth  tab  is  provided  at  the  right  which  is 
used  to  distinguish  between  prospects  and  customers. 

When  an  inquiry  was  received  from  Frank  Smith,  a 
grocer  at  Park  Ridge,  N.  Y.,  and  it  was  desired  to  place 
him  on  the  list  for  follow-up,  a  card  was  made  out  in 
his  name,  giving  the  available  information  about  him. 
Before  inking  the  fourth  tab  (to  show  that  he  was  a 
grocer),  his  credit  rating  was  determined;  this  was 
then  indicated  by  the  color  of  ink  used.  On  ratinirs  of 
$5,000  or  over,  the  tab  is  colored  with  red  ink.  If  the 
rating  is  less  than  $5,000,  black  ink  is  used.  The 


HANDLING  MAILING  LISTS 


89 


edge  as  well  as  the  face  is  colored.  Various  colored  inks 
have  been  used  to  make  further  classifications,  such  as 
green  ink  for  $25,000  ratings. 

The  next  step  in  the  classification  in  to  show  that 
Smith   is   only  a  prospect.     This   is   accomplished  by 


CHANGE  of  ADDRESS  or  NAME 


Noted  by 


Stencil  Dept 


City  and  State 


ListDept 


/P. 


Street  art  Number 


/a  ^  3 


CoJI.  Oept 


OtyandSta* 


AUG  5  1914 


Signed 


Stencfl  Information 


FORM  XXIII:    For  the  convenience  of  the  road  salesman  or  customer,  this  card 

provides  an  easy  way  to  report  a  change  in  address  and  any  necessary  notation  arising 

therefrom.  The  foim  may  be  printed  on  the  back  of  a  postal  card 

leaving  the  tab  at  the  right  blank.  If  at  a  later  date 
he  becomes  a  customer,  the  tab  is  inked  in  the  same 
way  as  the  business  classification  tab.  Either  black 
or  red  ink  may  be  used  in  this  case,  unless  it  is  desired 
to  make  a  further  distinction  between  different  classes 
of  customers.  Another  popular  plan  where  projecting 
tabs  are  used,  is  to  cut  off  the  right-hand  tab  to  indi- 
cate a  prospect  become  a  customer. 

The  card  is  now  filed  alphabetically,  thus  completing 
the  quadruple  classification. 

When  the  cards  are  filed,  all  the  tabs  appear  in  dis- 
tinct rows.  The  ink  marks  show  up  as  short  dashes. 


90  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

Each  set  of  similar  tabs  forms  its  own  separate  row, 
making  it  very  easy  to  pick  out  immediately,  without 
going  over  the  rest  of  the  list,  the  names  in  the  desired 
class.  At  the  same  time  the  list  remains  in  alphabet- 
ical sequence,  and  any  name  can  be  located  without 
need  of  referring  to  more  than  one  file. 

Whenever  it  is  desired  to  advertise  a  new  piece  of 
equipment  directly  to  the  larger  grocery  concerns,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  have  a  clerk  ''up  end"  each  card 
which  shows  the  fourth  tab  marked  with  red.  The 
envelopes  are  then  addressed  from  the  up-ended  cards. 

Keeping  a  large  list  of  names,  ranging  from  50,000 
upward,  involves  such  work  as : 

(1)  Selecting  method  and  extensiveness  of  filing. 

(2)  Adding  new  names. 

,(3)   Taking  off  worthless  names. 

(4)  Making  changes  in  address. 

(5)  Keeping  a  "morgue"  for  names  or  mail  returned 
stamped  " refused"  or  "unclaimed";  also  those  names 
which  have  been  taken  off  the  lists  because  shown  un- 
desirable trade. 

To  keep  a  large  list  in  good  shape  for  expeditious 
handling,  it  is  customary  to  have  two  files:  one  alpha- 
betical, the  other  geographical. 

The  alphabetical  often  stands  alone,  but  when  a  par- 
ticular section  covered  by  the  lists  is  to  be  circularized, 
an  alphabetical  list  obviously  makes  this  next  to  impos- 
sible. 

When  new  names  are  desired,  the  original  sources 
usually  will  make  it  possible  to  bolster  up  the  decreas- 
ing lists.  Brilliant  successes  in  business  have  been  built 
by  men  who  delegated  several  associates  to  clip  first- 
class  names  from  the  papers  every  day. 


HANDLING  MAILING  LISTS  91 

Changes  of  address  are  brought  in  by  road  salesmen 
or  sent  in  by  the  prospects  themselves  (Form  XXIII). 
The  latter  way  is  either  voluntary  or  secured  by  mailing 
a  suitable  printed  form. 

In  finding  out  which  names  are  "dead",  a  two  cent 
stamp  will  bring  the  undelivered  mail  back.  A  better 
and  more  economical  way  is  to  use  the  one  cent  stamp 
and  the  w'ords  "postage  guaranteed  for  return".  Still 
a  third  way  is  to  send  parts  of  the  list  to  the  various 
postmasters  about  the  territory:  covered.  They  will 
make  the  corrections  either  at  a  charge  of  thirty  cents 
an  hour  or  gratis.  Very  often  they  are  pleased  to  per- 
form this  work  so  as  to  avoid  a  great  quantity  of  mail 
which  must  be  returned. 


WHEN  you  look  at  your  office  as  a 
piece  of  fine  and  essential  equip- 
ment, you  will  oil  and  adjust,  repair 
and  remodel  it  part  by  part,  as  you  do 
your  lathes  and  engines.  The  closer 
your  profit  and  the  harder  the  condi- 
tions, the  more  carefully  you  will  make 
these  adjustments.  You  will  cut  lost 
motions,  reduce  friction,  fit  every  part  to 
do  one  thing  at  a  time  and  do  it  right. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
Where  Office  Appliances  Cut  Costs 

INSTALLATION  of  office  appliances  in  an  Eastern 
house  cut  the  cost  of  office  work  in  fifteen  months 
from  $20,000  to  $10,000. 

A  detailed  review  of  this  particular  office  and  the 
changes  that  were  made  illustrate  the  possibilities  of 
cutting  costs  through  the  use  of  office  machinery.  It 
employed  on  an  average  thirty  men  and  women  in  its 
office  routine,  exclusive  of  stenographers.  The  rate  of 
pay  ranged  from  eight  to  twenty-five  dollars  a  week; 
the  average  being  thirteen  dollars.  This  made  a  total 
of  $390  a  week — a  yearly  aggregate  of  more  than  $20- 
000.  This  sum  was  out  of  proportion  to  the  volume 
of  the  business. 

The  members  of  the  firm  had  a  theory  that  their 
gross  profits  should  be  thirty-five  per  cent  of  the  sales. 
In  reality  they  were  less  than  half  of  that.  Investiga- 
tion showed  that  lack  of  labor-saving  equipment  was 
the  greatest  single  cause  of  the  high  operating  expense. 

The  first  experiments  were  made  in  connection  with 
the  checking  of  incoming  invoices.  In  this  operation 
only  men  had  been  employed,  drawing  from  $15  to  $20 
a  week.  Not  only  was  it  essential  to  have  this  work 

02 


APPLIANCES  THAT  SAVE  93 

done  by  clerks  with  the  ability  and  knowledge  to  check 
the  unit  prices  intelligently,  but  the  operation  required 
considerable  accuracy  and  skill.  Goods  bought  by  the 
pound  or  yard  usually  involved  the  multiplication  of 
fractions. 

The  average  invoice  contained  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
items.  Under  the  old  method  over  seven  minutes  was 
required  to  check  one  such  bill.  But,  after  the  experi- 
ments with  calculating  machines  had  been  reduced  to 
a  regular  practice,  the  same  operation  was  done  in  four 
minutes.  This  included  the  checking  of  prices,  multi- 
plications, and  totals.  The  checking  of  unit  prices,  how- 
ever, was  still  performed  by  the  higher  paid  clerks. 

In  many  of  the  operations  connected  with  this  in- 
voice checking,  the  gain  in  time  was  almost  incredible. 
Thus,  in  finding  the  cost  of  419  */2  yards  of  cloth  at 
201/2C  a  yard,  the  machine  answer  was  secured  in  six 
seconds — less  than  the  time  ordinarily  required  to  write 
down  the  figures  to  be  multiplied.  An  increase  of  a 
thousand  per  cent  in  efficiency  was  shown  in  these  de- 
tached partial  operations,  while  the  fingers  of  the  opera- 
tors flew  over  the  keys  in  purely  mechanical  fashion. 
All  in  all,  the  machine  reduced  the  time  consumed  in 
checking  fifty  or  sixty  per  cent.  One  third  of  the  sav- 
ing was  in  salary — cheaper  clerks  being  used. 

The  house  did  a  large  credit  business.  Nine  clerks 
whose  salary  aggregated  $120  were  used  in  working  on 
the  statements  and  related  procedure.  One  experiment 
with  a  machine,  for  example,  showed  that  a  given  lot  of 
statements  could  be  produced  in  seventy  minutes  against 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  minutes  by  the  old  method. 
Here  was  a  gain  of  about  forty  per  cent.  The  weekly 
gain  on  all  the  laborious  detail  amounted  to  $45 — 


94  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

nearly  $2,400  a  year.  The  initial  investment  for  the 
machines  was  wiped  out  in  a  few  months  by  the  net 
returns.  In  bookkeeping  work,  and  at  kindred  processes, 
five  men  were  formerly  employed.  They  drew  an  aggre- 
gate wage  of  $325  a  month.  An  experiment  showed  that 
the  machine  would  do  a  given  amount  of  work  in  nine 
minutes  against  seventeen  minutes  for  skilled  men. 

Another  experiment  in  checking  postings  showed  the 
elapsed  time  under  the  former  methods  as  two  hours 
and  fifteen  minutes.  By  the  machine  method  the  gain 
was  about  an  hour  and  fifteen  minutes,  or  fifty-five  per 
cent.  This  did  not  represent  expert  machine  operation, 
but  the  usual  performance  of  bookkeepers. 

Just  as  production  in  factories  has  been  immensely 
speeded  up  by  automatic  machines,  so  production  in  the 
office  has  been  quickened. 

In  the  bookkeeping  items  typified  above,  the  saving 
of  fifty-five  per  cent  meant  a  monthly  gain  on  every 
$65  salary  of  over  $35. 

On  the  entire  bookkeeping  department  the  gain  was 
not  that  much,  but  it  reached  $1,000,  with  an  additional 
gain  of  $30  a  month  diverted  in  giving  higher  salaries. 

But  these  reductions  were  by  no  means  the  most  as- 
tonishing of  the  results  accomplished  in  the  office — 
results  that  did  not  come  at  once,  but  were  an  evolution 
extending  over  a  period  of  two  years.  It  was  in  the 
general  statistical  work  that  the  most  sweeping  cuts  in 
wage  expense  were  made.  Machine  calculation  here 
showed  an  increase  in  efficiency  of  over  five  hundred 
per  cent. 

Another  saving  was  accomplished  in  regular  practice 
in  totalling  sales  slips,  by  clerks  and  by  departments. 
An  operation  that  had  required  the  service  of  two  girls 


APPLIANCES  THAT  SAVE  95 

for  one-half  day  is  now  performed  by  one  girl  in  two 
hours.  Under  the  old  methods,  nine  working  hours 
were  consumed  per  girl;  hence  the  saving  was  seven 
hours,  or  about  one  dollar ;  more  than  $30  a  year. 

The  mechanical  device  method  made  it  possible  to 
handle  five  or  six  figures  where  one  had  been  handled 
before,  and  made  feasible  a  more  extensive  system  of 
reports,  comparative  tables,  and  general  statistical  in- 
formation. In  getting  manufacturing  costs,  a  gain  was 
made  of  fifty  per  cent,  by  using  machines.  One  of  the 
apt  girls  was  trained  in  the  machine  manipulation.  She 
was  able  to  accomplish  what  three  girls  had  done  indif- 
ferently well.  The  saving  amounted  to  $25  a  week,  or 
$1,300  a  year. 

In  the  payroll  work  the  time  was  cut  seventy-five 
per  cent.  In  figuring  the  worker's  wage  at  17%  cents 
an  hour  for  39%  hours  the  machine  answer  was  given 
in  from  three  to  four  seconds,  against  at  least  fifteen 
seconds  by  the  old  method. 

The  remainder  of  the  savings  was  chiefly  accomplished 
through  the  speeding  up  of  inventories.  The  use  of 
machines  in  this  work  showed  results  often  several  hun- 
dred per  cent  more  efficient  than  the  old  method.  In 
addition  to  the  time  saved  in  the  office  work  connected 
with  stock-taking,  an  immense  sum  total  of  the  time 
was  eliminated  in  the  store  and  stock-rooms.  In  taking 
inventories  it  was  found  possible  to  make  the  computa- 
tions directly  from  the  shelves,  the  machine  operator 
taking  the  items  and  values  as  they  were  called  off  to 
him,  and  making  the  multiplications  on  the  spot;  thus 
both  qualities  and  values  were  obtained  practically  in 
one  procedure.  Here  the  saving  was  seventy  per  cent. 

By   such  methods,   this  particular  concern,    bit  by 


96  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

bit,  and  as  the  result  of  careful  experimentation,  has 
chopped  its  office  cost  in  half.  In  like  manner  other 
business  offices  in  all  lines  are  reducing  the  standard 
operations  of  the  daily  routine  to  mechanical  processes. 
The  introduction  of  the  dozens  of  office  appliances  now 
perfected  is  widening  the  fields  of  business,  is  creating 
a  more  insistent  demand  for  statistical  matter  and, 
instead  of  doing  away  with  the  clerk,  is  finding  more 
useful  fields  for  him.  Office  registers,  electric  tabulat- 
ing machines,  overhead  desk-to-desk  carriers,  check  pro- 
tectors and  all  sorts  of  letter  manifolding  and  mailing 
devices  are  multiplying  the  deftness  of  office  minds  and 
fingers. 

To  "run  an  office  by  machinery"  is  not  an  experi- 
ment. When  the  office  manager  grows  impatient  at  the 
tardiness  or  inaccuracy  of  an  operation,  or  the  type  of 
work  which  is  constantly  keeping  his  office  behindhand, 
he  can  often  solve  his  problem  by  investigating  in  the 
field  of  automatic  "employees"  and  " hiring  a  machine ". 


TEN  years  of  effort  and  millions  of 
dollars  dug  the  Panama  Canal. 
But  the  saving  to  the  world's  commerce 
will  repay  the  initial  cost  a  thousand 
times.  You  cannot  dig  another  Panama 
Canal.  But  is  there  not  some  improve- 
ment in  your  business,  from  wThich  you 
are  withholding  capital,  that  would  re- 
pay the  investment  dozens  of  times 
over  in  lower  operation  costs?  Is  there 
not  a  Panama  route  to  be  found  in 
your  business? 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Handling  Office  Supplies  Like  Cash 

EH.  HAR/RIMAN  has  been  described  as  an  in- 
•  veterate  saver  of  used  paper  clips.  Another  habit 
which  he  shared  with  many  of  the  men  who  head  enter- 
prises and  who  know  by  long  experience  how  prone 
overhead  expenses  are  to  get  out  of  bounds,  was  the 
use  of  envelope  backs  for  scratch  paper. 

Economy  in  paper  and  pencils  to  the  disregard  of 
economy  in  time  is  one  extreme  in  the  handling  of  office 
supplies.  The  other  is  that  of  a  discharged  clerk  whose 
desk  the  head  of  a  small  business  recently  had  cleared. 
In  it  he  found  a  six  months'  supply  of  his  "A"  grade 
stationery,  pen  points  enough  for  half  the  office  force, 
a  drawer  full  of  assorted  scratch  pads  and  four  boxes 
of  rubber  bands  which  were  brittle  with  age. 

Either  carelessness  or  too  much  red  tape  in  giving 
out  supplies  is  likely  to  result  in  overstock  and  waste 
at  the  individual  desks.  Office  supplies  deserve  records 
and  safeguards  as  accurate  and  as  simple  as  accounts 
and  cash.  To  make  sure  on  this  point  is  one  of  the 
first  moves  for  the  proprietor  in  putting  office  ex- 
penses where  they  belong.  It  is  simple  enough  in  the 
concern  where  a  trained  stockkeeper  can  give  all  his 


97 


98 


WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 


time  to  the  work ;  but  some  of  the  methods  worked  out 
by  smaller  offices,  where  the  keeper  of  stock  has  a  half 
dozen  other  duties  in  the  way  of  manifolding,  buying, 
shipping  and  mailing,  indicate  the  direction  for  better 


BALANCE  OF  OFFICE  SUPPLIES  AND  OTHEH  PRICED  STORES 


Z*il!tCt°*™.  SUSTRA^OUAN^TT^RO^Vo^MN1!"^^*!?"  COLUMN       I      OUALST/T"otJOM"NO  M'AS       »'«O^>r  UNIT 

' 


DATE        OUAN 


FORM  XXIV:    To  prevent  wastes  or  unauthorized  use  of  office  supplies  and  maintain 

a  proper  balance  on  hand  in  a  St.  Louis  office,  no  article,  however  smii  11.  is  issued  except 

on  a  requisition  signed  by  a  department  head.     Each  hem  is  given  a  separate  card  m 

tha  stockkeeper's  me,  on  which  withdrawal  or  addition  is  noted 

control  even  where   the  stock-room   is  merely   a   desk 
drawer  and  a  shelf  in  the  clothes  closet. 

The  direct  risks  and  losses  that  come  of  loose  stock- 
keeping  are  these: 

(1)  Overstock. 

(2)  Shortage. 

(3)  Pilfering. 

(4)  Wasteful  use  of  supplies. 

(5)  Damage  and  excessive  depreciation. 

In  addition  to  these,  however,  the  method  may  be  a 
veritable  "wrench  in  the  machine'*  of  office  work,  if 
items  are  mislaid  and  overlooked  until  new  stock  has 
been  ordered  unnecessarily,  if  the  stockkeeper  is  absent 
and  the  door  locked  while  office  people  are  held  up  in 
their  work,  or  if  the  stock  boy  is  held  at  his  post  in 
idleness. 

One  of  the  most  perplexing  problems  in  every  busi- 
ness house  is  to  find  a  proper  method  for  keeping  track 


A  CHECK  ON  SUPPLIES  9£ 

of  printed  forms,  different  kinds  of  stationery,  and  other 
small  office  supplies.  An  inventory  system  becomes  a, 
great  saving  in  the  case  of  expensive  supplies;  and  even 
in  small  articles  such  as  pins,  pencils,  rubber  bands,  and 
the  hundred  other  articles  that  every  office  requires, 
economies  may  be  brought  about  that  are  well  worth 
considering. 

A  St.  Louis  business  man,  after  experiencing  the  an- 
noyance of  lost  stocks  discovered  after  the  purchase  of 
more,  evolved  a  storekeeping  plan  that  suits  the  small 
office. 

He  had  a  closed  stationery  closet  constructed  under  a 


Package  No.       /  *r Div.  No.. 


Received  /si  '  6MSC~&s       /  T~ 191 

Contains 


Total  No.  printed       /<4  U  u  u No.  Packages 

Use  ths  highest  numbsred  package  first 


FORM  XXV:    The  location  of  any  supply  and  the  quantity  last  printed  and  on  hand 

can  be  noted  to  advantage  on  this  package  label,  thus  short-cutting   bookkeeping  in 

the  stock-room 


stairway.  This  consisted  of  a  series  of  shelves  of  uni- 
form size,  divided  by  upright  partitions  spaced  to  suit  the 
various  items.  The  spaces  between  these  uprights  may 
be  either  lettered  or  numbered.  Cards  were  printed,  as 
shown  in  Form  XXIV,  for  the  use  of  the  stationery  clerk, 
and  placed  in  alphabetical  order  in  a  loose-leaf  card 


100  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

tray.  As  printed  matter  is  received  from  the  printer, 
it  is  turned  over  to  the  stationery  clerk,  who  enters  the 
name  or  number  of  the  form  on  the  card.  He  then 
rewraps  the  job  in  smaller  packages,  50  to  100  copies  in 
each  package,  and  numbers  them.  The  label  used  on  the 
smaller  packages  is  shown  in  Form  XXV.  These  are 
then  placed,  the  smallest  package  numbers  at  the  back 
and  bottom,  in  the  proper  compartment  of  the  sta- 
tionery closet. 

On  the  back  of  each  supply  card  (Form  XXVI)  the 
minimum  and  maximum  to  be  kept  in  stock  may  be 
noted.  As  the  stationery  clerk  receives  requisitions  for  the 
different  forms  he  fills  them  with  the  highest  numbered 
packages,  noting  on  the  card  the  data  from  these  re- 
quisitions. Packages  are  wrapped  to  contain  the  most 
convenient  quantity.  Blanks  or  forms  of  which  a  large 
number  are  used  in  a  short  time,  are  wrapped  in  larger 
packages  than  others. 

A  skilful  clerk  will  find  many  advantages  in  this 
plan.  As  he  rewraps,  he  counts  one  package  in  five  or 
ten  as  a  check  on  the  supplier.  By  going  over  his  card 
record  for  the  past  year  or  more,  he  learns  what  quan- 
tity to  order  to  last  a  certain  time. 

Working  with  the  office  manager,  he  can  keep  down 
the  amount  of  money  tied  up  in  forms  which  are  likely 
to  change  and  place  orders  which  will  secure  all  the 
advantages  of  price  on  standard  items.  Whenever  he 
wishes  to  verify  his  running  inventory,  he  has  only  to 
count  the  wrapped  packages  and  the  one  broken  pack- 
age. To  arrange  his  piles  in  tens,  makes  it  easier,  and 
he  is  thus  enabled  to  check  on  any  unauthorized  dis- 
turbance of  the  stock.  During  any  absence,  he  can  leave 
the  key  with  the  head  of  the  office,  assured  that  his  card 


A  CHECK  ON  SUPPLIES 


101 


index  will  enable  the  manager  to  find  any  item    in  case 
of  an  emergency.  '  '• . 

Even  in  offices  of  large  ..size,  one  <>!'  th<>  greatest 
sources  of  losses  often  is  'ihe'.Ni  itlH-  »•!'  paring /iud 
distributing  supplies.  In  remedying  this  difficulty,  one 


KttrtbiOlvU 


trlnfed  by 


No  of  ptti_ 


|«h  p*».  crftte    CTd 


Taken  oat 
[1  .*/»  &-> 


Taken  oat 
73 


.     .    1,93 


FORM  XXVI:    This  form  is  the  reverse  of  Form  XXIV.     It  carries  a  simple  record 
which  shows  how  fast  every   department  uses  the  item  listed  and  who  was  the 

requisitioner 

office  head  adopted  the  standard  stores  system  in  use 
in  factories  operating  under  scientific  management  meth- 
ods. He  gathered  all  supplies  into  a  general  storeroom 
and  put  a  man  in  charge.  Each  item  was  charged  up 
against  .that  department  and  totaled  each  month  for 
comparison  with  records  of  other  months  and  other  sec- 
tions. In  effect,  the  storeroom  was  a  business  retailing 
supplies  on  credit  to  the  various  departments. 

Reorganization  of  stores  was  carried  still  further,  how- 
ever. Instead  of  ranging  shelves  about  the  walls,  they 
were  carried  up  in  uniform  stacks  with  roomy  aisles 
between.  Stores  were  classified  and  sections  assigned  to 
them.  Sections  were  subdivided  into  units  large  enough 
to  hold  the  maximum  supply  of  each  item  yet  not  waste 
space.  Pencils,  paper,  forms,  clips  and  so  on,  were  kept 
in  their  original  packages.  For  the  bulkier  supplies 
there  were  double  sections  which  alternated  as  receiving 


102  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

and  issuing  bins  to  prevent  deterioration  of  stock  through 
age. 

To  insure  a  proper  balance  of  supplies  a  ' '  balance-of- 
stox-es".  cjerk  was  install  txl.  Loose-leaf  books  were  pro- 
vided for  "Office  Supplies  and  Other  Price  Stores", 
"Unpriced  Stores"  and  "Unclassified  Stores".  In  one 
or  another  of  these  books  every  item  in  stock  had  its  in- 
dividual sheet.  Nothing  entered  or  issued  from  the 
storeroom  without  a  "stores- received"  or  "stores-issued" 
slip  being  sent  to  the  clerk.  From  this  slip  entry  was 
made  in  the  proper  book,  so  as  at  all  times  to  show  the 
quantity  on  hand.  The  maximum  and  minimum  sup- 
plies were  all  set  down.  When  the  supply  dropped  to 
the  latter  point  the  clerk  notified  the  purchasing  agent 
to  order  more. 

How  the  System  of  Having  Every  Department 
"Pay"  for  Its  Supplies  Works  Out 

Wherever  the  spirit  of  the  organization  is  loyal,  any 
plan  which  enables  each  employee  to  see  what  supplies 
cost  the  firm  results  in  a  worth-while  economy.  One 
progressive  office  curbed  its  expense  for  supplies  by  al- 
lowing each  department  a  certain  weekly  appropriation 
for  such  purchases.  Aluminum  coins,  good  at  the  sup- 
ply window  for  three,  five,  twenty-five  and  fifty  cents 
and  one  dollar,  are  issued  to  each  department  head  on 
Monday  morning.  The  amount  is  based  on  records  for 
past  months.  No  material  is  issued  to  a  department  ex- 
cept for  strictly  "cash"  payment.  So  pronounced  is 
the  disinclination  to  part  with  cash,  that  the  result  has 
been  a  marked  economy  in  most  departments. 

While  the  keeper  of  supplies  requires  accurate  meth- 
ods, the  system  which  is  simply  installed  and  left  to  run 


A  CHECK  ON  SUPPLIES  103 

itself  is  no  system.  One  manager  whose  supply  shelves 
were  in  disorder  because  his  stock  clerk  had  many  other 
duties,  has  worked  out  various  reforms.  In  order  to  give 
the  clerk  time  for  proper  inspection  and  to  put  the  stock 
shelves  in  order  every  day,  the  office  head  arranged  that 
half  the  office  departments  should  requisition  between 
nine  and  eleven  on  Tuesday  and  the  other  half  between 
nine  and  eleven  on  Thursday.  This  cut  down  the  needless 
writing  of  many  small  requisitions  throughout  the  office, 
gave  the  clerk  four  hours  a  week  when  he  could  be  quite 
busy,  left  him  time  to  put  the  stock-room  in  order,  and 
enabled  the  office  manager  to  reduce  his  inspection  of 
this  corner  of  the  office  to  two  visits  a  week.  Emergency 
requisitions  at  other  hours  have  to  go  through  an  amount 
of  routine  which  discourages  them. 


WHEN  you  get  a  job  pitch  in,  pay 
no  attention  to  the  clock,  take 
more  interest  in  the  business  than  the 
old  man  himself.     Think  shop,   talk 
shop.   Then  when  you  think  you  ought 
to  have  a  raise  go  to  the  old  man  and 
say  you  want  to  quit  to  better  yourself. 
He  will  not  let  you  quit.     He'll  raise 
your  salary  or  take  you  in  as  a  partner. 
—Thos.  A.  Edison 


CHAPTER  XV 

Plans  That  Stopped  Money  Leaks 

INK  DOESN'T  cost  much— until  you  begin  to  buy  it 
in  quantities.  Then,  like  everything  else,  it  becomes 
a  big  item.  The  amount  of  ink  used  amounts  to  only 
little  in  the  largest  firms;  it  is  the  amount  wasted  that 
increases  expenses.  The  liability  of  spilling — spoiling 
valuable  records,  disfiguring  furniture  and  floors — must 
be  considered. 

In  Pittsburg  a  firm  which  had  noticed  this  source  of 
waste,  tried  the  experiment  of  giving  a  few  old  time 
accountants  fountain  pens.  The  investment  proved  an 
economy,  and  the  plan  was  adopted  throughout  the  en- 
tire department.  These  pens  are  fitted  with  the  kinds 
of  points  the  accountants  desired,  so  that  each  one  had 
the  same  advantages  he  formerly  possessed  when  he 
chose  his  particular  steel  point.  A  boy  keeps  the  pens 
filled  and  cleaned. 

An  economy  of  ink  has  resulted.  There  are  no  more 
blotted  or  spoiled  records  from  overturned  ink  bottles. 
More  uniformity  about  the  records  has  followed  than 
formerly,  and  there  is  no  lost  motion  to  and  from  the 
ink  well,  no  running  to  the  ink  bottle,  or  trying  to 
break  in  a  new  pen.  The  buyer  of  this  firm  purchases 

104 


STOPPING  LEAKS  105 

about  twenty-five  per  cent  as  much  ink  as  he  formerly  did. 

This  experience  illustrates  the  two  most  promising 
sources  of  direct  economy  in  most  offices:  wasted  sup- 
plies and  lost  motion.  Just  because  the  loss  in  a  single 
instance  is  small,  most  managers  let  little  items  of  office 
waste  get  by  them.  They  forget  that  one-tenth  of  a  cent 
leak,  contributed  to  three  times  a  day,  by  one  hundred 
employees,  means  a  loss  at  the  end  of  the  year  of  one 
hundred  dollars.  Any  business  man  would  drop  his 
work  and  institute  a  rapid  search  if  you  told  him  that  a 
hundred  dollar  bill  had  been  dropped  out  of  his  cash 
drawer  this  morning  into  the  sweepings.  But  just  be- 
cause this  hundred  dollars  is  dropping  out  in  driblets  of 
one-tenth  of  a  cent  he  lets  it  pass. 

Discrepancies  between  the  actual  and  the  paper  in- 
ventory of  supplies  are  probably  inevitable  in  most 
offices.  Where  they  have  been  reduced  to  a  minimum, 
this  improvement  has  resulted  from  supervision  by  an 
office  manager  who  backed  the  stock  boy  in  refusing  to 
give  out  anything  without  a  properly  signed  requisition 
and  who  trained  that  subordinate  by  frequent  examples, 
to  expect  a  rigid  check-up  in  case  of  any  loss. 

When  bulk  stock  cannot  be  put  under  lock  and  key, 
the  plan  of  stacking  it  in  even  piles  makes  the  removal 
of  a  single  package  quickly  noticeable.  In  one  case,  the 
office  manager  had  the  crates  of  stock  stacked  in  a  cube 
of  ten  each  way  and  noticed  the  new  position  each  da^ 
after  the  stock  clerk  had  filled  his  requisitions  from  the 
one  broken  tier.  In  a  similar  way,  when  books  and 
boxes  of  supplies  had  been  uncrated  late  in  the  day  for 
counting,  the  office  manager  had  them  put  in  even  piles 
over  night  so  that  several  overtime  workers  who  carried 
their  own  keys  would  understand  that  they  would  be 


106  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

held  responsible  for  any  shortage  noticed  the  next  morn- 
ing. 

The  proprietor  of  another  small  office  found  that  many 
letters  came  back  from  the  post  office  because  they  had 
not  been  securely  stamped  in  the  hurried  handling  of  a 
large  quantity.  He  found  further  that  many  of  the  en- 
velopes were  not  securely  sealed  and  that  others  were 
badly  wrinkled  and  smeared.  To  stop  this  loss  in  stamps 
and  sales  effort,  he  adjusted  the  schedule  of  several  work- 
ers so  that  they  could  act  as  emergency  mailing  clerks 
during  the  evening  hours,  notified  his  department  heads 
and  stenographers  that  as  much  mail  as  possible  was  to 
be  signed  and  sent  in  at  4  p.  m.  and  finally,  placed  his 
home  address  on  every  mailing  list  so  that  he  could  see 
personally  the  condition  in  which  the  mail  arrived. 

Another  successful  cost  cutting  move  which  not  only 
saves  paper,  but  space  in  the  filing  cabinet  is  to  turn 
the  carbon  of  a  letter  and  copy  a  second  page  on  the 
back  of  it  rather  than  using  a  second  sheet.  To  avoid 
discarding  material  which  is  needed  later  and  at  the 
same  time  to  be  free  from  voluminous  files  which  some- 
one has  to  inspect  before  they  can  be  discarded,  another 
office  manager  has  made  it  a  rule  that  each  of  his  men 
keep  a  folder  marked  "discard  on  the  first  of  the 
month ".  Here  are  placed  papers  which  may  be  needed, 
but  for  which  the  call  is  to  come  soon  if  at  all. 

How  Cutting  Down  the  Day's  Waste  Motion  Saves 
Dollars  in  Office  Expense 

Saving  and  scheming  on  useless  motions  are  just  as 
profitable — though  perhaps  not  so  tangible — as  cutting 
down  waste  in  supplies.  A  worker's  aggregate  moves 
might  be  measured  in  miles.  Shorten  each  move  and 


STOPPING  LEAKS  107 

more  work  can  be  had  without  pushing  him  so  hard. 
The  firm  which  gave  its  accountants  fountain  pens 
bought  more  figures  through  the  elimination  of  pen  dip- 
ping innumerable  times  each  day. 

Would  you  think  that  twenty-seven  dollars  could  be 
saved  in  a  year — even  in  a  large  office — by  stopping  em- 
ployees from  asking  each  other  the  date  and  time  of 
day? 

Every  employee  who  watches  the  clock  is  losing  time. 
Yet  clock  watching  is  necessary  in  planning  work.  Em- 
ployees watch  clocks  because  they  are  set  at  tasks  and 
want  to  keep  posted  on  the  passing  of  time  as  their  work 
progresses  through  the  day. 

The  superintendent  of  a  big  city  office  was  annoyed 
by  the  constant  interchange  among  employees  of  in- 
formation touching  the  date  and  the  hour.  To  eliminate 
these  inquiries  he  installed  a  large  wall  clock  at  each 
end  of  the  office  and  arranged  all  desks  so  that  everyone 
could  see  one  or  the  other.  Under  each  clock  he  placed 
a  huge  calendar. 

Over  each  calendar  he  placed  an  electric  lamp  that 
was  lighted  at  dusk.  Thus  at  a  glance,  any  employee 
could  learn  the  date,  hour,  minute  and  second,  without 
disturbing  anyone  else. 

The  clocks  cost  $24.00  a  year;  the  lights  were  esti- 
mated at  $3.00  a  year  for  current  and  maintenance ;  the 
calendars  were  supplied  gratis  by  a  firm  whose  imprint 
they  bore.  The  manager  saved  the  entire  year's  invest- 
ment during  the  first  month  in  the  employees'  time  that 
had  formerly  been  wasted. 

Finding  a  shorter  and  better  way  to  perform  office 
operations  is  a  constant  source  of  new  economies  for 
the  progressive  office  head.  One  manager  has  worked 


108  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

t 

out  a  series  of  well-understood  abbreviations  which  he 
and  his  assistants  use  in  accounting,  filing,  and  the  ex- 
change of  information. 

A  stock  clerk  with  experience  as  a  printer  has  a  well- 
standardized  method  of  counting  different  articles  by 
taking  the  weight,  thickness  or  extent  of  ten  or  a  hun- 
dred and  then  weighing  or  measuring  larger  quantities 
in  proportion. 

Wishing  to  secure  a  duplicate  file  of  3x5  cards,  a  de- 
partment head  worked  out  the  method  of  printing  up 
blanks  in  rows  of  three,  one  above  the  other.  The 
original  form  was  made  of  durable  paper,  the  carbon 
copy  of  cardboard.  Both  were  perforated.  This  method 
secured  a  better  carbon  than  could  be  obtained  by  using 
even  the  thinnest  card  stock  for  the  original,  while  the 
carbon  copy  is  used  in  the  file  which  has  to  withstand 
the  most  handling.  Running  three  of  the  cards  through 
the  machine  at  once  makes  them  curl  smoothly  about  the 
roll. 

To  typewrite  on  single  filing  cards  without  the  aid  of 
a  special  card  writing  device  is  simple  as  worked  out  in 
another  office.  The  method  is  this: 

Cut  a  letterhead  a  little  wider  than  the  card.  Double 
the  sheet,  creasing  it  about  the  middle — folding  the  bot- 
tom half  over  the  top  half.  Then  turn  back  what  is 
now  the  top  half,  creasing  it  again  clear  across  the  sheet 
a  quarter  of  an  inch  or  so  from  the  first  crease.  Your 
entire  sheet  is  now  just  a  little  shorter  than  at  first,  with 
a  quarter-inch  "pleat'*  in  the  middle. 

Insert  this  sheet  in  the  typewriter  in  the  regular  man- 
ner, with  the  proper  side  up  so  that  when  it  is  rolled 
through  the  machine  and  the  "pleat"  comes  around  the 
platen  to  the  writing  point,  it  will  form  a  little  pocket- 


STOPPING  LEAKS  109 

across  the  sheet,  one-quarter  inch  deep.  Drop  the  bot- 
tom of  the  card  into  the  pocket,  writing  side  up,  turn 
the  roller  backwards  and  the  card  will  go  into  the  ma- 
chine. When  the  card  is  written,  a  half  turn  of  the 
roller  will  throw  it  out  and  the  pocket  is  ready  for 
another  card.  The  card  does  not  go  clear  around  the 
platen,  is  not  bent,  and  considerable  time  is  saved. 

If  much  card  writing  is  done,  a  sheet  should  be  kept 
on  hand,  folded  of  fairly  heavy  paper,  with  the  other 
side  of  the  "pleat"  gummed  down  to  keep  the  sheet 
from  unfolding. 

Where  operations  have  to  be  repeated  over  and  over, 
time-saving  methods  are  almost  sure  to  reward  study. 
In  an  office  where  labels  were  numbered  by  rubber  stamp 
in  lots  of  ten  for  each  number  from  one  to  ninety-nine, 
a  student  of  scientific  management  worked  out  a  method 
of  stamping  each  single  figure  on  all  the  cards  requiring 
it  before  changing  the  stamp.  The  plan  was  in  part  to 
lay  out  the  stamps  from  one  to  ten  in  front  of  the  ten 
piles  of  cards  and  to  run  through  the  entire  pile  op- 
posite the  place  where  the  stamp  was  missing,  as  through 
the  20  's  in  the  case  of  2.  To  sort  checks  so  that  they 
can  be  stamped  with  the  minimum  number  of  changes  in 
a  check  marker  involves  the  same  principle. 

Making  out  checks  in  bunches  on  certain  days  of  the 
month  and  filing  them  where  they  can  be  sent  out  at 
the  proper  moment  to  secure  the  discount  is  a  well- 
known  short  cut  in  many  offices. 

The  use  of  various  manifolding  devices  at  the  proper 
points  in  the  routine  is  often  an  economy.  A  Southern 
concern  frequently  has  large  printing  contracts  to  place. 
These  contracts  usually  consist  of  many  forms,  and  bids 
are  received  from  six  or  eight  different  printers.  To 


110  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

save  time  and  make  sure  that  all  sample  forms  are  iden- 
tical, a  special  ribbon  is  put  on  the  typewriter  and  the 
forms  are  typewritten  on  tracing  linen.  From  these 
tracings,  the  desired  number  of  blueprint  copies  are 
made. 

One  of  the  most  important  points  in  office  routine  is 
to  make  sure  that  one  blunder  does  not  offend  a  cus- 
tomer on  top  of  a  former  hurt  which  has  already  made 
him  sensitive.  Accurate  office  routine  can  in  such  cases 
save  the  sales  department  much  invested  good  will.  The 
sales  department  of  a  large  manufacturing  corporation 
maintains  what  it  calls  the  " Black  Book",  in  which  are 
registered  all  complaints  received  from  customers  con- 
cerning material  sold  and  service  rendered. 

Each  order  received  is  checked  with  the  "Black  Book" 
before  it  is  passed  on  to  the  order  department.  In  case 
a  complaint  has  been  received  from  the  customer  con- 
cerning a  previous  order,  a  note  is  sent  to  the  plant  su- 
perintendent reading  somewhat  as  follows,  telling  in 
each  case  exactly  what  the  previous  complaint  was: 

"The  inclosed  order  has  been  received  from  a  cus- 
tomer who  complained  against  our  last  order  on  the 
grounds  that  the  plates  were  not  sheared  accurately. 

"Therefore,  kindly  give  this  order  your  special  atten- 
tion to  insure  entire  satisfaction." 

This  letter  and  copies  are  attached  directly  to  the 
original  mill  order  and  its  duplicates,  so  that  each  de- 
partment foreman,  regardless  of  whether  or  not  the 
error  mentioned  was  his,  is  warned  by  the  message  to 
guide  the  order  carefully  through  the  processes  under 
his  control.  Thus  the  memory  of  a  past  error  stimulates 
everybody  in  the  plant  to  accuracy. 

Even  in  the  routine  work  about  the  office,  there  are 


STOPPING  LEAKS  111 

short  cuts  and  economies  frequently  to  be  used.  One 
concern  which  had  been  paying  the  janitor  day  after 
day  for  time  put  upon  the  polishing  of  the  brass  and 
nickel  work  found  that  a  single  coat  of  transparent 
lacquer  each  year  obtained  the  same  result  at  a  saving 
of  nearly  $200.  , 

In  every  big  business  house  where  there  are  a  number 
of  department  managers  the  telephone  operator  often 
has  difficulty  trying  to  find  a  man  who  happens  to  be 
out  of  his  office.  It  may  take  a  dozen  different  calls 
before  he  is  found,  and  these  calls  waste  not  only  the 
telephone  operator's  time,  but  that  of  the  people  who 
must  answer  in  the  various  departments  called. 

A  manufacturing  establishment  with  a  dozen  depart- 
ment managers  who  visit  one  another  on  business  all  day 
long,  has  solved  this  difficulty  with  a  simple  little  '  *  tele- 
phone chart ' '  which  has  reduced  the  waste  time  by  over 
seventy  per  cent,  according  to  the  superintendent's  esti- 
mate. The  telephone  girl  is  provided  with  a  square 
sheet  of  cork  about  an  inch  thick  and  six  inches  square. 
The  top  surface  of  this  has  been  ruled  off  into  small 
squares  and  across  the  face  of  each  of  these  is  lettered 
the  name  of  one  department.  The  girl  has  a  number  of 
tiny  silk  flags  of  various  colors  mounted  on  small  pins 
so  that  they  will  stand  upright  in  the  cork.  Each  flag 
carries  the  name  of  one  of  the  executives. 

When  Mr.  Carter,  head  of  the  wholesale  department, 
goes  to  consult  Mr.  Bentley,  the  sales  manager,  Mr. 
Carter's  stenographer  calls  the  operator  and  says:  "Mr. 
Carter  is  in  Mr.  Bentley 's  office."  Central  puts  the  silk 
flag  with  Mr.  Carter's  name  on  it  into  the  ruled-off 
square  of  cork  labelled  "Sales  Manager'*,  and  when 


112  WAYS  TO  CUT  EXPENSES 

calls  come  in  for  him  she  switches  them  to  the  right  tele- 
phone at  once. 

She  is  thus  able  to  take  care  of  calls  for  more  than  a 
dozen  men  without  delay,  without  any  strain  on  her 
own  memory,  and  with  quicker  and  more  accurate 
service. 

The  secretary  of  a  plant  employing  from  seven  to 
eight  hundred  people  paid  by  check  twice  a  month, 
became  tired  of  thumbing  each  check  to  attach  his  signa- 
ture. He  saved  himself  considerable  time  and  effort  by 
having  a  clerk  lay  out  the  checks  on  a  flat  topped  desk 
in  rows,  the  checks  covering  one  another  except  for  a 
narrow  margin  at  the  bottom  where  they  were  to  be 
signed.  The  manager  was  then  able  to  sign  the  checks 
in  less  than  half  the  former  time,  losing  no  time  in  turn- 
ing and  blotting.  A  clerk  followed  him  with  a  blotter. 

By  careful  consideration  of  the  needs  of  the  office, 
it  is  possible  for  the  manager  to  evolve  many  such  little 
plans  whereby  both  time  wasted  on  superfluous  detail 
may  be  saved,  and  costs  may  be  cut. 


MORE  serious  than  big  losses  in 
business,  guarded  against  and  pro- 
vided for,  are  the  small  wastes — the 
little  drains  on  the  vitality  of  a  business. 
Their  insignificance  constitutes  their 
greatest  menace.  Escaping  notice, 
they  escape  correction.  Whether  they 
threaten  the  solvency  of  his  concern  or 
merely  chop  his  dividends,  they  are 
hateful  to  the  constructive  business 
man. 


•11  •• 

Part 


DESK  METHODS  AND  EMER- 
GENCY MANAGEMENT 


Filling  the  Manager's  Chair 

L_I  OW  to  be  at  once  workman,  advisor,  con- 
*  •*•  troller  and  pilot — that  is  the  office  man- 
ager's problem. 

To  the  plans  of  the  business,  the  office  is  a 
tool  and  its  manager  the  workman.  He  out- 
lines, he  supervises,  he  inspects  for  sound  work. 

For  ambitious  clerks  and  departments,  he  is 
a  trained  advisor.  By  his  perspective  and 
experience  he  develops  his  force  towards 
better  records. 

To  the  general  manager,  he  is  a  controller 
of  outlay.  With  his  records  and  quota  sheets 
he  finds  short  cuts,  runs  down  errors  and 
complaints,  initiates  economies. 

Among  his  workers,  he  is  the  pilot.  By  his 
charts  and  schedules,  his  foresight  and  judg- 
ment, he  guides  his  force  through  emergencies 
and  keeps  it  in  currents  of  work  that  run  full 
but  smooth. 

If  you  would  fill  your  place,  take  these  four 
essentials  by  which  to  train  yourself,  design 
your  report  system  and  schedule  your  time. 


•II 


III 


ru  i  IIINO  /Y.  us/Yiva  a^xiEsUULj^ 
ON  ONE  PAGE 

List 

o! 

Work 

Diily 

H 

In- 
voice 

IVpt 

Auxiliary  Book       W 

ig*s  Payments  and  ! 

laUnce                Collection  Dept 

i 

0 

O  —  —  Filing  Correspondence 

V  Invoicing 

7   1 

11 
II 
\ 

¥ 

•"  "  Credit  Booka 
<P  ..  BillBook 

•  111 

ill! 

•i! 
I 

A 

i-^—  —  Pay  Factory  Wagea 
>  —  Balance  Cash  Book 

•0  Acknowledge  Remittance* 

—  —  —  Send  Notice*  for  Note*  Coming  Due  N«xt  Week 
Write  up  Diary  Month 

—  —  —  —  Statement* 
—  —  —  Write  up  Card  Index  of  Oped  Accounts 
Form  Utter*!  Advg.Drafta  for  Acct*.Du€  Ut 

iii 

i-! 

i  .  5 

!    "     § 

I  «! 

:    ? 

i 

5         .3 

Monday 
Tuesday 
Wednesday 
Thursday 

E 

E 

F 

J-C 

B-0 

Days   }} 
of  the    13 

Month  15 
U 
17 

j 

A 

B-C 

B-C 

B-C 

19 

21 
22 
23 

8 

26 
27 

| 

B-C                                             , 

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April 
July 

October 
A 

—  Cashier              B  to  D  —  Bookkeeper*           E  to  1  —  Ocrics            O=  Office  Boy 

With  this  schedule,  an  office  manager  planned,  assigned  and  checked  on  all 
office  work.  Opposite  the  lower  end  of  every  black  line  is  the  date  (asevery- 

•II 


•II 


CHAPTER  XVI 

At  the  Office  Manager's  Desk 

WHATEVER  saves  time  and  favors  a  definite 
schedule  deeply  concerns  the  office  head  who 
realizes  his  position  as  pace-maker  and  enforcer  of  or- 
ganized effort  in  the  administrative  work  of  a  business. 
Always  to  be  in  full  command  of  his  force  he  needs 
first  to  have  his  own  hours  and  dates  under  an  auto- 
matic schedule.  A  simple  electric  device,  consisting  of 
an  annunciator,  call  button  and  sixty  indicators,  together 
with  indicators  and  buttons  at  the  desks  of  other  offi- 
cials, is  in  the  words  of  the  head  of  a  great  life  insur- 
ance office  "one  of  the  best  labor-saving  devices  for  an 
executive  I've  ever  seen".  An  elementary  but  too  rare 
substitute  for  this  simple  mechanism  is  an  agreed  sched- 
ule of  daily  interviews,  when  the  manager  and  his  asso- 
ciates hold  brief  conferences  covering  the  office  work. 

So  in  turn  the  manager  can  make  schedules  for  his 
individual  duties — those  which  he  must  perform  regu- 
larly. They  may  not  necessarily  be  daily  duties,  but 
weekly,  semi-monthly,  yearly.  Many  office  men  trust  a 
private  secretary  to  "dispatch"  their  work  down  to  the 
minute.  In  a  smaller  office,  the  head  has  his  stenog- 
rapher go  over  his  desk  calendar  at  the  beginning  of 


115 


116  MEETING  EMERGENCIES 

each  year  and  month,  making  notations  for  the  stand- 
ard duties  that  he  is  to  perform  on  the  various  dates. 
Detail  engagements  he  notes  for  himself.  Another  be- 
gins his  dictation  with  the  remark,  "Remind  me  of  the 
inspection  tour  next  Tuesday  and  other  engagements". 

Success  in  carrying  out  routine  and  enforcing  office 
reforms  begins  in  an  analysis  and  schedule  of  the  re- 
quired work,  with  due  regard  to  its  amount  and  the 
number  of  employees  at  disposal. 

An  aid  to  this  orderly  planning  by  the  office  or  de- 
partment manager,  is  a  "Table  of  Work"  like  that 
(page  114)  which  a  progressive  manager  has  originated 
for  himself.  The  first  step  in  the  preparation  of  such  a 
table  is  the  making  of  a  complete  itemized  list  of  the 
regular  work.  Next  is  the  assignment  of  each  item  of 
work  to  some  official  or  clerk  in  the  office.  Finally,  it  is 
necessary  to  determine  when  each  task  is  to  be  finished. 

In  the  column  for  each  item  a  red  line  is  dropped.  At 
the  end  of  it  is  a  letter  representing  the  person  respon- 
sible for  or  appointed  to  perform  that  particular  task. 
Down  the  left  side  of  the  sheet  run  the  days  of  the 
week  and  month.  The  position  on  the  ruled  sheet  to 
which  the  letter  is  dropped,  indicates  the  closing  day  for 
the  task,  in  the  week  or  month,  as  the  case  may  be.  If 
it  is  to  be  performed  semi-monthly  as  in  the  case  of 
"Balance  of  Bank  Book"  the  line  is  broken  and  the 
letter  inserted  on  the  proper  day.  If  the  task  is  of  daily 
performance,  the  line  is  dropped  only  to  the  "Daily" 
column.  Such  a  map  of  office  duties  and  dates  helps 
the  office  head  to  think  out  and  abide  by  a  schedule. 

The  method  of  another  office  manager  for  scheduling 
his  own  personal  duties  is  shown  in  Figure  VII. 
The  first  hour  this  head  devotes  to  reading  corre- 


AT  THE  MANAGER'S  DESK 


117 


spondence.    After  this  he  looks  over  the  reports  of  the 
previous  day's  work  from  every  department.    Each  de- 


Every  Day  [ 

9  Read  Mail 
10  Study  Report! 
11  Conferences  with  Deptsx 
ll  President's  Conference 

1  Dictation 

3  Economy  Plans  and  Inspection* 
4  Sign  Mail 
5  Round  up  Office  Work 

Every  Week  | 

ference 
h  Wednesday 

Uter-hours  Office  Inspection 
Compare  Daily  Reports  for  Week 
Examine  Time  Records 
Pest  Files,  Accounts,  Stoc>- 
md  Shipping 

0  Machine  Inspection. 

Monday  Help  Meet  Monday  Rush 
Tuesday  Advertising  Department  Cot 
Wednesday  -Employees'  Luncheon  Fourt 
Thursday  Board  Luncheon*                 F 

How  an 
Office 
Manager 
Schedules 
His  Year's 
Work 

Saturday  Round  up  Week'a  Wo«- 
i 

Every  Month 

rtake  Quotas 
—  ("Revise  Quota! 

T1  1  10  IJTTI  [241  1  31  | 

nnnrirwinrii    i 

[Deposit  for  Payroll 

jSijfel  |  13  |  |$$j  1  27  1  1      | 

[Sign  Check. 

|L_ZJ  LllJ  [HJy  LLJ  1  —  1 

-j_Consider  Salary  Application* 
Gitart  New  Billing  Number* 

Every  Year              | 

LMM^1;                   :i>liliM] 

:iub  Annual  Meeting 
G'urchase  Supplies 

|y.-.fi-fe"aryQ  1   August    | 

March      |  |  September  [  1  —  

Impty  Files 
-[Have  Auditing  Done 

April       |  |    October|f  

1        May       1  ^November'!  ]  ••••   .    

-  Customer's  Christmas  Tokens 
Reconsider  Quotas 

m  vi&mi  m&ff&*\  ,  

Employees  'Gifts 
-   Take  Inventory 
fMake  General  Quota* 

"]_Club  Picnic 

FIGURE  VII:    Confusion,  worry,  loss  of  time  and  temper,  perhaps,  are  eliminated  by 

one  office  manager  who  keeps  this  schedule  of  work  under  the  glass  on  his  desk.     When 

dates  come  on  Sundays  or  holidays,  the  manager  merely  reads  ahead  or  back  one  day 

and  makes  sure  that  nothing  is  neglected 


118  MEETING  EMERGENCIES 

partment  turns  in — at  the  end  of  the  day — an  account 
of  its  efforts,  and  of  its  individual  workers.  These  re- 
ports include  work  done  by  machine  operators;  number 
of  orders  billed ;  number  left  over,  and  the  like. 

Then  follow  conferences  with  the  department  heads 
on  matters  which  are  called  to  the  manager's  attention 
by  the  reports,  or  instructions  for  the  day's  work.  A 
consultation  with  the  president  comes  next.  Matters 
of  greatest  importance  are  discussed.  He  is  then  ready 
to  clear  away  the  day's  main  dictation. 

Miscellaneous  matters  are  handled  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  morning,  if  any  time  is  left.  The  second 
half  of  the  day  is  devoted  in  part  to  handling  miscel- 
laneous work,  and  seeing  visitors.  A  short  time  is  taken 
up  by  signing  and  reading  outgoing  correspondence. 

This  is  the  manager's  personal  daily  schedule.  One 
matter  which  he  performs  weekly  is  a  Saturday  after- 
noon investigation  of  the  physical  condition  of  the  office. 
The  employees,  having  Saturday  afternoon  off,  are  ab- 
sent. In  time  the  average  condition  of  their  desks,  says 
this  manager,  strongly  suggests  the  quality  of  the  work 
they  turn  out. 

Twice  a  month  comes  the  demand  upon  his  time  for 
signing  pay  checks.  This  work  he  performs  at  noon, 
when  no  other  eyes  are  around. 

Seeing  that  the  repair  man  goes  over  the  typewriting 
and  billing  machines  is  a  duty  that  goes  on  a  monthly 
calendar  and  recurs  thirty  days  after  each  renova- 
tion. In  this  concern  a  man  is  hired  from  one  of  the 
companies  selling  the  machines,  to  make  a  monthly  ex- 
amination. From  the  report  which  he  turns  in,  the 
manager  can  tell  when  it  is  advisable  to  replace  the  re- 
spective machines.  This  overhauling  also  prevents  ma- 


AT  THE  MANAGER'S  DESK  119 

chines  from  " slowing  up"  or  suddenly  becoming  use- 


Each  month  quotas  are  made  for  the  collection  de- 
partment. At  the  end  of  two  weeks  it  is  revised  if  it 
runs  above  or  falls  down.  Quotas  are  made  at  the 
same  time  for  receipts  and  disbursements. 

A  great  many  things  are  attended  to  semi-annually. 
Supplies  of  all  sorts,  including  books  for  the  account- 
ing department,  stationery,  pencils,  and  the  like,  are  pur- 
chased. These  purchases  are  made  during  July  and  Jan- 
uary. Inventory  is  taken  during  the  latter  part  of  June 
and  December.  The  supplies  are  purchased  in  the  suc- 
ceeding months  because  the  items  and  the  amount  to  pur- 
chase are  known  most  exactly  at  those  times.  Likewise, 
files  are  emptied  and  contents  are  transferred  during 
these  semi-reorganization  periods — July  and  January. 

Salary  revision  is  usually  a  definite  week  or  month 
of  the  year.  In  this  firm,  however,  increases  are  con- 
sidered instantly.  Beginning  with  the  employee's  en- 
trance into  the  firm  this  matter  is  given  consideration 
every  six  months.  Since  the  employees  enter  at  vari- 
ous times,  the  question  pops  up  for  some  individual  or 
other  every  few  days.  Unforeseen  increases  in  office  ex- 
pense are  thus  spread  over  the  year. 

During  the  last  half  of  the  fiscal  year,  which  ends 
'July  1,  general  departmental  expense  quotas  are  set. 
These  figures,  however,  are  not  final,  but  are  reconsid- 
ered at  the  end  of  six  months.  Existing  conditions  and 
past  records,  weighed  and  judged  in  conference,  dictate 
these  standards  for  the  future. 

Circularizing  is  begun  with  the  coming  of  September, 
and  has  numerous  seasons  which  the  office  manager  keeps 


120  MEETING  EMERGENCIES 

in  his  file  because  of  the  mailing,  financial  and  order 
handling  help  he  must  give  the  sales  manager. 

With  the  beginning  of  each  fiscal  year  the  order  num- 
bers in  the  billing  department  are  started  anew.  In 
February  the  auditing  is  done. 

There  are  numerous  minor  matters  to  be  attended  to 
each  year.  During  November,  Christmas  cards  are  ad- 
dressed to  customers,  to  be  sent  out  at  the  proper  time. 
At  Christmas,  gifts  are  distributed  among  the  employees. 
This  entails  some  work  as  well  as  do  matters  connected 
with  banquets,  picnics  and  so  forth. 

Back  of  all  these  engagements,  the  office  manager 
stands  as  the  "prime  mover",  reminded  by  his  schedule 
and  setting  the  routine  in  motion.  Another  plan  which 
utilizes  an  ordinary  tickler  file  is  to  drop  the  appoint- 
ment notes  behind  the  monthly  and  annual  guides. 
Where  later  the  glove  proves  a  misfit,  alter  it  to  meet 
unforeseen  conditions,  at  length  the  manager  may  merely 
shift  a  card  ahead  one  day,  one  week,  half  a  month,  a 
month,  six  months  or  a  year,  as  the  card  may  read.  And 
the  fact  that  the  work  is  initiated  or  inspected  regu- 
larly and  promptly  has  a  vital  influence  in  keeping  the 
whole  business  to  schedule. 


INITIATIVE,  perseverance,  courage 
1  and  all  other  attributes  of  business 
success  are  secondary  to  the  attribute 
of  thoroughness. 

— John  Hays  Hammond 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Interpreting  Reports  and  Planning 
Ahead 

DURING  an  especially  dull  period  last  year,"  said 
a  department  head  in  a  public  service  corpora- 
tion, "our  office  took  several  collectors  off  the  street,  a 
designated  number  at  a  time,  and  trained  them  as  tele- 
phone operators  for  reserve  use  during  the  rush  season. 
We  also  took  girls  from  the  addressing  section  and 
taught  them  filing  routine  in  preparation  for  the  spring 
onslaught  of  new  business  and  changes. 

" Taking  out  these  workers  for  only  two  weeks'  in- 
struction relieved  their  mates  of  a  demoralizing  sag  in 
the  work  and  gave  everyone  'a  man's  work'  to  do.  Fur- 
ther than  this,  it  enabled  us  to  handle  an  average  of 
3336  telephone  calls  a  day  in  the  busy  weeks.  At  the 
filing  cabinets  also,  reserves  turned  what  had  been  a 
time  of  confusion  into  smooth,  accurate  and  economical 
rQutine. ' ' 

This  principle  of  trained  reserves  is  applicable  in  the 
well-centralized  office  not  only  within  a  department,  but 
also  among  the  various  departments.  To  make  such  an 
adjustment  in  an  office  of  any  sort,  however — to  know 

121 


122  MEETING  EMERGENCIES 

how  many  reserve  workers  are  needed ;  when  and  where ; 
and  to  choose  the  right  people  and  the  right  time  for 
training  them — requires  that  the  office  head  have  more 
than  a  vague  knowledge  of  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  busi- 
ness. He  can  lay  down  such  a  course  accurately  and 
confidently  only  when  he  has  records  and  charts  that 
fully  depict  past  seasons. 

These  records,  however,  must  not  be  loaded  down 
with  detail.  Their  purpose  is  to  sift  out  and  so  com- 
press their  information  that  the  manager  will  not  devote 
his  time  to  untangling  yesterday's  details,  but  will  see 
the  heavy  lines — the  important  tendencies — of  past  sea- 
sons and  lay  his  course  intelligently. 

The  head  of  the  office  may  be  also  the  head  of  the 
firm,  or  he  may  be  strictly  an  office  manager.  In  either 
case,  his  needs  in  the  way  of  office  management  reports 
are  fairly  simple.  An  office  may  be  regarded  as  a  reser- 
voir, to  which  various  inlets  bring  certain  things ;  labor, 
products  to  be  sold,  office  supplies,  orders  and  cash; 
from  which  various  outlets  take  away  certain  things ;  ex- 
pense money,  shipments.  Wherever  there  is  an  inlet  or 
an  outlet,  the  office  needs  a  gauge  which  will  measure 
what  goes  in  or  out.  From  time  to  time  the  office  man- 
ager needs  a  report  on  each  of  these  inlets  and  outlets, 
comparing  the  present  and  the  expected  flow  with  what 
has  previously  taken  place,  and  with  the  ideal  or  quota ; 
and  also  comparing  the  remaining  level  with  past  rec- 
ords. 

Every  office  will  require  these  reports  to  be  slightly 
different,  but  the  idea  behind  is  generally  the  same— 
to  find  out  what  is  coming  in ;  what  is  going  out ;  what 
must  be  checked,  what  forced,  and  to  what  extent 
progress  is  being  made.  In  one  well- planned  office  the 


REPORTS  THAT  GUIDE 


123 


reports  that  sum  up  the  significant  facts  are   five  in 
number. 

The  first  is  the  revenue  sheet  showing  sales,  profit 
and  expense.  This  report  is  usually  made  out  monthly, 
with  cumulative  figures  for  the  year  and  with  columns 


Name 


Month  of 


.Date 


3.  SO 


.30 


.(.0 


.JO 


30 


/  .7S- 


•3.0 


Total 


3.74 


.00 


3.  JO 


.40 


FORM  XXVII:    The  letters  running  across  the  face  of  thi^  personal  expense  account 
blank  are  symbols  wiuch    cover   the  items  on  which  the  company  is  to  refund  any 
expenditures  to  employees 

comparing  this  year  with  previous  seasons.  The  second 
report  covers  operating  expense  divided  acording  to  de- 
partments, whatever  they  may  be — commercial,  distribu- 
tion, manufacturing  and  office.  One  copy  of  this  report 
is  the  office  manager's  for  initiating  economies,  another 
the  treasurer's  for  checking  thereupon.  Each  depart- 
ment head  is  given  a  copy  of  his  own  share.  The  third 
report  shows  cash  received  and  paid  out.  The  fourth 
sums  up  liabilities  and  assets — shows  the  level  at  which 
the  business  stood  at  the  end  of  the  previous  month. 
The  fifth  covers  stores,  office  supplies,  raw  material  and 
product. 

These  are  all  fundamental  types  of  report  in  any  busi- 
ness. 

A  statistician  makes  out  these  reports,  including  costs 
drawn  from  more  detailed  sources.  Prom  these  reports 


124  MEETING  EMERGENCIES 

can  be  learned  the  exact  cost  of  any  routine  business 
move.  But  the  figures  have  very  little  value  in  them- 
selves. It  is  by  comparing  them  month  by  month  and 
cumulatively  with  the  figures  for  other  seasons,  as  fully 
as  the  case  suggests,  that  control  of  waste  and  measures 
of  progress  can  be  planned. 

The  judgment  of  the  manager  in  any  ofiice  finds  proof 
in  his  ability  to  make  these  reports  cover  the  essentials. 
In  the  customers'  service  department  of  this  company, 
for  example,  the  department  head  and  office  manager 
get  an  expense  report,  a  daily  report  of  the  number  of 
customers  handled,  a  report  of  the  efficiency  of  every 
individual  employee  and  a  report  of  the  sources  of  busi- 
ness. Four  or  five  such  reports  on  departmental  inlets 
and  outlets  enable  any  office  manager  to  keep  check  on 
the  work  and  to  coordinate  the  forces  of  the  whole 
office. 

The  expense  report  (Form  XXVII)  is  made  out  to 
itemize  the  expense  of  running  the  department.  From 
such  expense  reports  for  the  various  departments,  it  is 
but  a  step  to  a  monthly  report  of  all  office  expenses  by 
departments  and  items,  which  gives  the  office  manager  a 
clear  perspective  on  costs  and  wastes. 

The  daily  report  of  the  number  of  customers  each  clerk 
has  handled  (Form  XXVIII)  is  a  valuable  record  of  in- 
dividual efficiency.  Taken  in  the  long  run,  this  report 
shows  who  are  most  adapted  to  handling  people.  The 
department  head  is  most  closely  concerned  with  these 
statements,  but  the  office  manager,  as  his  advisor  and  the 
person  responsible  for  employment  conditions,  has  fre- 
quent use  for  them.  Similar  reports  check  upon  the 
efficiency  of  employees  in  other  departments,  according 
to  the  results  they  actually  secure.  These  records 


REPORTS  THAT  GUIDE  125 

are  regularly  posted  about  the  office  and  show  the 
various  workers  in  order  of  their  efficiency.  In  almost 
any  type  of  office,  such  a  report  spurs  the  workers  ex- 
traordinarily. 

Another  report  shows  the  means  of  communication 
used  by  every  customer,  and  the  department  whose 
service  he  desires.  This  report  is  equivalent  to  the 
sales-by-items  report  of  a  store.  It  tells  the  office 
manager  and  department  head  where  to  increase  the 
force  and  where  to  decrease  it,  as  at  a  branch  office,  at 
the  telephone,  in  the  mail  order  section,  or  elsewhere. 

In  this  office,  the  various  departments  are  always  keep- 
ing such  records  of  the  flow  of  the  avork,  for  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  department  heads  and  the  office  manager. 


INFORMATION  ITEMS 
Application  Dept 

PlPrk         ^>>7^  s>£ 

_  Position       '(/^L0-**-&— 

_                       Number  of  Items 

Item  A 

ItemB 

/-/-/-( 

// 

IMPORTANT  :  —     For  each  customer  handled  at  counter  or  by  phone  and  no  order  or 
memorandum  is  issued  the  clerk  will  immediately  take  credit  for  one  "Information  Item". 
Do  not  estimate.  Keep  a  careful  record  and  hand  to  Supervisor  at  end  of  each  days  work. 

FORM  XXVIII:    From  the  information  on  this  form  the  superintendent  can  tell  at  a 

glance  how  many  customers  the  clerk  handled  "face  to  face".    The  deftness  and  tact 

of  the  various  salespeople  becomes  more  evident  day  by  day  from  these  records 

When  one  department  calls  for  workers  in  the  line  of 
promotion,  the  office  head  consults  the  individual  effi- 
ciency records  and  takes  the  opportunity  to  adjust  some 
worker  more  closely  to  his  capacity. 

Reading  between  the  lines  is  therefore  an  essential 


126  MEETING  EMERGENCIES 

ability  in  an  office  manager.  Reports  do  not  free  him 
from  the  requirement  of  experience,  but  enable  him  to 
capitalize  his  familiarity  with  the  business.  In  a  series 
of  reports  on  "customers'  orders  not  executed  by  shops" 
for  example,  this  office  manager  sees  daily  and  monthly 
the  proportion  of  the  different  reasons  for  failure  to  fill 
each  class  of  orders.  By  experience  he  knows  how  these 
reasons  should  proportion.  The  first  one  on  the  list  is 
"house  locked".  If  this  reason  is  popular,  he  is 
prompted  to  find  whether  the  men  have  been  careless 
about  asking  where  the  key  may  be  found  in  case  the 
resident  should  not  be  at  home.  He  calls  for  the  actual 
blanks  which  the  delivery  men  turn  in  at  the  end  of  the 
day  and  notes  who  found  the  house  locked.  This  gives 
him  the  correct  direction  for  discipline.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  stenographic  department,  among  the  file 
clerks,  at  the  one-way  telephones,  in  the  accounting  di- 
vision and  throughout  the  administrative  work. 

When  the  statistician  notes  a  marked  change  one  way 
or  the  other  in  any  reports,  he  underlines  it  to  make 
doubly  sure  that  it  will  get  attention.  With  reports  so 
thrown  into  high  lights  and  shadows,  one  man  can  speed- 
ily study  a  vast  amount  of  office  work  and  quickly  tell 
what  changes  to  make  in  his  control. 

Before  printing  or  installing  a  new  type  of  report,  one 
manager  requires  the  requisitioner  to  state  in  a  stand- 
ardized written  way  the  purpose  he  has  in  mind  for  it. 
This  applies  to  all  sorts  of  forms  and  blanks.  Here  is  a 
sample  statement: 

Purpose — Used  at  station  for  drawing  material  out  of 
stock. 

How  originated — Written  in  duplicate  by  fitters  or  fore- 
men who  requisition  material  for  their  work. 


REPORTS  THAT  GUIDE  127 

Information  furnished — Account  number,  name  of  sta- 
tion, name  of  person  requesting  material,  name  of 
job  for  which  material  is  to  be  used,  units,  pounds, 
feet,  articles,  unit,  cost,  amount,  date,  name  of  store- 
keeper. 

Routing  of  forms — Original  and  duplicate  numbered  at 
station;  original  sent  to  Stores  Accounting  depart- 
ment, duplicate  retained  permanently  at  station. 
Original  checked  by  stores  accounting  department  to 
ascertain  if  all  numbers  are  accounted  for,  material 
is  recapitulated  (one  sheet  for  each  account);  at  the 
end  of  the  month  totals  are  charged  to  each  account. 

Final  disposition — Original  filed  permanently  in  stores 
accounting  department,  duplicate  retained  perma- 
nently at  station. 

Departments  interested  in  the  use  of  this  form:  Engi- 
neering, Stores,  Accounting. 

Rush  seasons  are  at  best  unpleasant,  costly  to  meet 
and  to  some  extent  avoidable.  A  heavy  run  of  business 
not  anticipated  or  provided  for  will  put  more  emery  into 
the  bearings  and  do  more  to  unloose  wasteful  methods, 
break  up  the  organization  and  reduce  individual  effi- 
ciency both  physically  and  in  spirit  than  almost  any 
other  routine  difficulty.  Rush  seasons  are  on  the  calendar 
every  year.  Some  of  them  never  fail.  Therefore,  they 
have  to  be  met,  and  preparation  can  be  made  to  meet 
them. 

Most  other  troubles  are  temporary  and  confined  to 
particular  departments;  inefficiency  or  jealousy;  the  as- 
sociation of  workers  who  dislike  one  another;  careless- 
ness and  lack  of  discipline ;  the  unexpected  loss  of  valued 
workers ;  waste  and  temporary  extravagance ;  rare  cases 
of  dishonesty ;  errors  in  judgment. 

If  you  have  never  checked  over  your  office  difficulties, 
you  will  quickly  see  that  different  reports  which  fore- 


128  MEETING  EMERGENCIES 

warn  you  of  inefficiency  and  rush  seasons,  and  different 
reserve  workers  trained  at  all  times  for  various  positions, 
will  meet  most  of  these  difficulties. 

Wrong  addresses  are  in  one  office  a  detail  which  well 
illustrates  the  use  of  reports  by  those  who  are  controlling 
and  planning  the  work.  When  the  man  sent  on  outside 
work  finds  that  he  has  the  wrong  address — a  vacant  lot, 
perhaps,  he  telephones  to  a  specialist  whose  talent,  ex- 
perience and  business  it  is  to  study  out  right  combina- 
tions for  wrong  numbers. 

Keeping  down  these  errors,  however,  is  the  important 
matter  for  the  order  department  head  and  the  office  man- 
ager. When  the  report  of  individual  errors  comes  in, 
they  have  at  hand  the  means  of  locating  and  handling 
anyone  who  has  made  a  low  record.  With  the  posting  of 
the  errors,  indeed,  the  natural  pride  and  ambition  of  the 
employees  largely  supply  the  check  upon  excessive  care- 
lessness. 

Wherever  the  office  manager  can  adjust  such  an  auto- 
matic check  upon  the  errors  which  his  reports  show, 
he  leaves  more  of  his  attention  free  to  plan  more  con- 
structively and  to  invent  new  short  cuts  in  the  overhead 
of  the  business. 


ANY  business  is  like  a  bridge  that  is 
building.  You  must  anchor  your 
structure  to  a  foundation  of  experience 
and  knowledge  and  rivet  home  each 
member  as  you  add  it.  To  carry  your 
span  safely  across  the  new  and  untried, 
build  on  what  you  have  proved — build 
on  what  you  know. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


